Knicks cut ties with Jennings, sign Randle

On Monday, the New York Knicks announced that they had waived guard Brandon Jennings and signed fellow guard Chasson Randle to fill his roster spot. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN, Jennings will likely latch on to a new team very soon, and the Wizards and Warriors have emerged as legitimate options for the 27-year old. 

One team, league sources tell ESPN, with interest in newly released backup point guard Brandon Jennings: Washington.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 27, 2017

Jennings inked a one-year, $5 million pact with New York this past summer and averaged 8.6 PPG and 4.9 AST in 58 games this year. Right now, there is roughly $1.2 million remaining on his salary, thus making Jennings a nice pickup for a contending team.

According to Marc J. Spears of ESPN, Jennings told the Knicks front office that he wanted out in order to pave a path toward joining a playoff team. Despite this, fans are torn on the transaction, as some claim that Jennings was one of the few players that actually hustled while others have grown tired of his erratic shooting. Nevertheless, once the move was made official, the eight-year veteran went on Twitter and thanked the New York faithful for their support.

Thank you to all the Knicks fans for the love all year long, and thanks to my teammates and the organization.

— Brandon Jennings (@brandonjennings) February 27, 2017

 Regarding the other move, Knicks fans have seen plenty of Chasson Randle in recent time, as the 24-year old was once very close to breaking camp with the team this season. The Knicks ultimately chose Ron Baker to fill out the bench as Randle was sidelined with an orbital bone fracture. Randle's solid 2015-2016 season in Westchester allowed him to join the Sixers a few months ago, but his stint with the team ended after just eight games. Philadelphia recently cut the Stanford product to clear a spot to complete its Nerlens Noel trade with the Mavericks. 

Randle (left) made headlines with his strong performance this past summer

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Randle's deal with the Knicks will be partially guaranteed through the 2017-2018 season. Additionally, he is expected to join the team tonight when they square off against the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden. 

These moves certainly came out of nowhere, especially Jennings, but I am glad that the Knicks are granting the veteran's wishes and cutting bait before things potentially get ugly. Jennings provided a major spark for the team early in the season, but fizzled out by the All-Star break and was likely moving onto greener pastures in the summer when he hits free agency. Now he will be able to join a contender and chase his first NBA ring. 

Personally, Jennings' erratic shooting and overall inconsistent performance was mind-boggling to watch for me. You could see that he had the "it" factor to be a serviceable guard in the Knicks system, but more often times than not he simply did not mesh with the team philosophy. As a one-year gamble, bringing in Jennings was a worthy risk at the time but it clearly did not work out the way the Knicks envisioned. 

With Randle, I am happy that the Knicks are giving him another chance. The youngster looked fantastic in summer camp and was probably going to make the team in October if he had not suffered the injury. Hopefully Randle provides a bolt of energy and shows Phil Jackson and Co. that they should have never let him leave last year.