Julius Randle was not as expansive with his answers as Donte DiVincenzo was about his first regular-season game facing the Knicks since the offseason trade to the Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Randle, a three-time All-Star in five seasons with the Knicks, offered mostly short responses about Thursday night’s matchup in Minnesota against his former team, calling it “another game” and that he’s just going to “play basketball.”
“I’m going to go home, play with my kids, going to eat some food … and I’m going to sleep,” Randle said. “I’m going to wake up in the morning, go to shootaround, probably get a little treatment. And then I’m going to shoot.
“And then I’m going to go home and have some breakfast and then I’m going to go to the arena and play the game.”
Asked about Josh Hart’s recent comments about the Knicks still trying do find their identity without him and DiVincenzo, Randle replied, “Oh you got to ask Josh about that. I don’t play there anymore.”
Randle did note that the biggest difference between Minnesota and New York is “it’s cold.”
When told it’s also cold in New York, he responded “it’s minus-4 here.”
Hart believes Randle and DiVincenzo will play with “a chip on their shoulder” against the Knicks.
“Whenever you get traded, no matter what it is, it’s always tough, it’s always emotional,” Hart said. “You always have that sense of not being wanted. That’s on both sides.
“I think ’Te and Ju probably felt that way. And KAT probably felt that way, and every time a trade happens, you feel, even if you’re the big piece of the trade and another team wants you, you still feel a little chip on your shoulder and you still feel unwanted.”
Jalen Brunson added that both former teammates “carry that [chip] regardless of who they play, honestly that’s just who they are and that’s their makeup.”
The Knicks assigned rookies Pacome Dadiet and Ariel Hukporti to the Westchester Knicks to play in the G League showcase beginning Thursday in Orlando.
