The
New York Knicks shooting guard
Josh Hart joked about
Julius Randle’s fitness update which left the side in a poor
shape going into the playoffs.
The 29-year-old has been ruled out of
action after dislocating his right shoulder back in late January.
Hart was recently quoted in a
report where he jokingly called Randle a ‘terrible teammate’ for giving the Knicks
hopes of returning to action.
"I feel for us because he just kept us in
the wind for two months,” he jokingly said. “Terrible teammate, terrible human
being.”
Hart, on a more serious note, expressed
optimism that Randle will be able to return to full fitness before the start of
the next season.
"As competitors, as hoopers,
you never want your season to end on injury," said Hart. "So, we know
that's a tough thing for him. Obviously, he wasn't able to end last year fully
healthy, and he was playing great and had a great rhythm. So, it definitely was
just unfortunate.
"But now, for him, it's just
about hitting his rehab strong and getting better this offseason, and he'll
come back next year better than he was this year."
Randle, while talking to the Bleacher
Report, expressed disappointment after not being able to recover in time to
take part in the remainder of the campaign.
"I want everyone to know that
I did everything in my power to get back this season," said Randle.
"That was my intention, to be playing right now. That's why I didn't opt
for surgery when it happened.
“But what caused me to finally go
through with getting surgery was about five weeks ago, I went through a
full-contact session in pads and re-injured my shoulder. My s--t wasn't stable.
I felt like I was in the same state when I first dislocated it, and It's been
an uphill battle ever since.
"Choosing to get surgery was
my only option at this point. It's frustrating, but I'm at peace knowing I
tried everything."