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Who Is Chasson Randle?
On March 4th, the Knicks waived Brandon Jennings and signed undrafted rookie point guard Chasson Randle to a two year contract. Don’t worry, I was thinking the same thing: who the f*** is that guy?
After tearing up three Summer League games for the Knicks, averaging 18.3 points on 47.6 percent shooting, 24 year old Chasson Randle was left off the Knicks roster to start the season. He moved to the D-League, where he put up 20.4 points per game and shot 42.2 percent from the field. A few years ago, when he was a junior at Stanford, Randle stepped in at point guard for former starter Aaron Bright, and responded with 18.8 points per game, earning first-team All-PAC12 Conference honors and leading his team to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. Randle is the all-time leading scorer at Stanford with 2,375 points.
Randle’s been getting buckets his whole life. He’s not some athletic beast who never developed his raw skills at the college level and only started honing them in the pros (think James Johnson, Jonathon Simmons, you get the idea). He’s ground-bound and quick only in straight lines, rather than laterally. But Randle might be the smoothest criminal at the end of anyone’s lineup.
Do you ever play pickup against that wiry little guard that can read your mind? That guy that, when you play off of him, he pulls up and drills a three in your face? That guy that, even though you’re bigger and faster than him, he always gets you moving in the wrong direction? Randle is that dude.
What Randle brings to the Knicks
1. Open to the Triangle
With [Derrick] Rose lukewarm about the intricate triangle, Randle embraced it. Known as a cerebral player who loves watching video, Randle ran parts of the triangle at Stanford. Phil Jackson’s organizational strategy is having Westchester run the triangle — more so even than the Garden dwellers.
The Knicks are sticking with the Triangle. Phil Jackson and Jeff Hornacek have made that very clear. While they’ve integrated modern principles to stay afloat, the core movement of their offense is Triangle based. And it’s no secret that Rose isn’t a fan.
Which make Randle an attractive option off the bench. Right now, he’s still the third point guard in the rotation, behind Justin Holiday, but if Randle can prove he has a more consistent feel for the Triangle, he could jump Holiday eventually.
Unfortunately, the Knicks front office doesn’t give a damn about winning games with the season all but lost, so if Randle plays well he might actually sink further down the bench.
2. High I.Q. shooter
The sample size for Randle’s three-point shooting is minuscule, but a few things are certain.
- He’s got a quick release.
- He’s shot above 35 percent from beyond the arc in every organization he’s played in thus far (Stanford, Summer League, D-League).
His scoring efficiency is largely going to depend on if he continues to shoot well in the pros. This isn’t college or Summer League. Close-outs are going to come faster. Contested shots are going to get tighter. And he’ll see fewer open shots than a 4/5 train in Brooklyn after midnight.
Randle just doesn’t have the physical tools to get to the rim if his shot isn’t as good as advertised. Although he’s got a smooth feel for the game, he’s too small and not explosive enough to get to his spots.
That being said, his feel for the game is excellent for a third rotation guard. His court vision might be his biggest advantage. Especially against opposing bench units that aren’t as knowledgeable about the game as the starters, Randle looks three steps ahead. If he gets into the paint, and some poor rotation big steps up too far to challenge him, Randle is already driving straight into that big man’s body. If the big doesn’t recover, it’s an easy layup. If he does recover, it’s an easy dump-off to Willy Hernangómez or whatever Knicks center is lumbering around the basket.
It’s not accurate to just label Randle as an undersized three-point threat (think a poor man’s Patty Mills). First of all, he’s a decent shooter, but not really a space-warping threat like Mills. And second, Randle’s best attribute is really his penchant for making the right plays. The only caveat to that is he won’t have the option to make any plays if his shot isn’t at least causing defenses to play up on him. They’ll go under every pick-and-roll, and it won’t matter how high Randle’s hoops I.Q. is, he’ll get choked out of the offense. Mechanically, his shot looks good, though, so it’s a safe bet that won’t be an issue.
3. Pushes the ball after steals
The Knicks’ defense is a disaster. Well, their whole team is a disaster, but their defense is especially awful, ranking sixth worst in Defensive Rating, per NBA.com. Randle won’t help much on that front, mostly due to his physical limitations — no lateral quickness, small stature, average first step — but he’s got a knack for doing stuff like this:
Randle’s court vision isn’t just an offensive tool. He’s constantly keeping his head up, searching for blunders like lazy swing passes or botched pick-and-rolls. And he’s always ready to turn extra possessions into fast breaks.
My best comparison for Randle is a homeless man’s version of Mike Conley. Like Conley, Randle can spot up from three, has a quick trigger, and always seems to make helpful basketball choices with the ball. That last trait is incredibly rare, which is why so many Knicks fans are itching to see more of Randle, a calm head amidst a roster of decapitated chickens.
Jeff Hornacek elected not to play Chasson Randle Wednesday against the Bucks in a 104–93 loss. But keep your eye out for Randle in the coming weeks. He’ll probably never be a star in this league, but he could carve out a long career as a solid backup that the Knicks ought to keep.
— Harrison Liao, site writer
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