1 Secret reason New York Knicks aren't trying to trade Julius Randle

There may be one secret reason why the New York Knicks are currently trying to trade Julius Randle.

Making one of the bigger splashes of the NBA offseason, the New York Knicks, after the acquisition of Mikal Bridges, find themselves in a great position to emerge as one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference. On top of acquiring Bridges and re-signing OG Anunoby, there's one more long-term decision the team needs to make over the course of the next few months. And it revolves around the future of Julius Randle.

Eligible for a contract extension, it doesn't seem as if either side is looking to get a deal done at the moment. Even despite that, the Knicks aren't exactly looking to move on from Randle - at least not yet. And there may be a reason why. The Knicks aren't looking to trade Randle for the moment; that shouldn't come as a surprise. But while many would assume it's due to the fact that the Knicks want to see how Randle looks with the new team, which may be part of it, there may be another secret reason why New York isn't looking to shop Randle on the trade market.

According to a recent report, Randle's trade value is "neutral at best" and I can't help but wonder if that's the real reason why the Knicks have held off on shopping the All-Star caliber power forward.

Why the New York Knicks may be better off trading Julius Randle

In theory, there's a strong argument to be made that the Knicks may be better off trading Randle than signing him to a contract extension. If the Knicks could trade Randle for a backup point guard and backup center, it could do wonders for this team's depth as they look to make this team better rounded.

Sure, losing Randle's scoring punch in the frontcourt could hurt but that's kind of the reason why you trade for both Anunoby and Bridges.

And the shots that Randle is going to return to get are naturally going to take away from Anunoby and Bridges. In short, the Knicks may have a problem on their hands that they don't even know about. Interestingly enough, trading Randle could be viewed as one way to solve it.

But it could be difficult to do that if his trade value is not in a place where it makes sense to trade him.