LOS ANGELES. On Sunday morning, Julius Randle pleaded guilty at UCLA, and an hour later the NBA fined him $50,000 for the incident with Cam Johnson.
The NBA issued the fine because Randle “pushed” Johnson hard, contacted an NBA official, and did not participate in the NBA investigation.
The enigmatic Knicks forward was in good spirits on Sunday after the morning’s shootout, but that was before he learned of the hefty fine — the third fine he’s taken this season.
Randle admitted he was “hurt” for letting his teammates down and had already apologized to the team.
Randle was thrown out Friday night in Phoenix as the Knicks scored 10 points late in the third quarter after pushing out Suns forward Johnson, who ended up winning the game with a 3-pointer in a killer 115–114 loss. .
Julius Randle (left) was penalized for pushing Cam Johnson (right) during the Knicks’ loss to the Suns on March 4, 2022. AP
“It hurts not to win,” Randle said before the Knicks faced the Clippers on Sunday night. “I’m more upset that I wasn’t available to my team going forward. That’s what hurt me the most in the world. I apologize guys for this. It hurt me that I couldn’t be there for the entire stretch of the journey.”
Randle scored 25 points and dominated the depleted Suns when he picked up two technical faults after battling Johnson for rebounds. Randle turned to Johnson, lunged at him, then pushed the referee’s hand away and pushed Johnson hard.
Randle said he called his eldest son Kaidan and heard it from him.
Julius Randle was ruled out following the Knicks’ loss to the Suns on March 4, 2022.USA TODAY Sports
“Afterwards I called my senior and he was very upset that I didn’t play down there,” Randle said. “It’s a pity we didn’t win. My wife said, “Call my son.” He’s kind of like a boss. I’ll probably think about it next time.”
Randle looked stunned as he was ejected.
“I was a little surprised,” Randle said. “But that’s part of the game. I used to think I’d get one [technical] and that would be the end of it. I didn’t expect dual technology. But it’s still my fault.”
Tom Thibodeau also said that Randle was at fault, but felt that the double technical error was “borderline”.
“It’s an emotional game,” Thibodeau said. “There will be exchanges. You must be careful not to cross this line. Everyone understands this. it was unsuccessful. I thought it was borderline, to be honest with you. You can’t put it in the hands of officials to make that decision. We can learn a lesson from this.”
Randle sees a light at the end of the tunnel despite the Knicks’ seven-game losing streak and a 3-17 record in their last 20 games.
“It should turn around soon,” he said. “We have to turn around. As long as we play with pleasure, as long as we have the opportunity to take the field, we owe each other, ourselves, to give everything we have and compete and play to win. You know, unfortunately, we were not able to close as many games in which we participated – as we are, 25-38? We could very easily be 38-25 as many games as we lost. So it’s unfortunate, but it’s all a learning experience. You accept your bumps and bruises and keep getting better.”