A player who last played for the <a href="https://news.thesportsdrop.com/nba/nba-rumors-lebron-james-not-expected-to-depart-the-lakers-anytime-before-2024-2405-20220729-SPD-2405.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Los Angeles Lakers</a> in 2018 looks to be of interest to the team, according to reports. There is a possibility that the Lakers would enter into the picture if the <a href="https://news.thesportsdrop.com/nba/nba-trade-rumors-lakers-have-other-targets-besides-kyrie-irving-2269-20220719-SPD-2269.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Knicks</a> manage to get <a href="https://news.thesportsdrop.com/nba/nba-rumors-heat-in-need-of-third-club-to-get-donovan-mitchell-2242-20220718-SPD-2242.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Donovan Mitchell</a>.



If NBA insider Marc Stein is correct, Darvin Ham’s side would have no problem taking on <a href="https://news.thesportsdrop.com/nba/bam-adebayo-willing-to-devote-whole-professional-career-to-heat-in-spite-of-trade-rumors-2419-20220731-SPD-2419.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Julius Randle</a>‘s $117 million deal he signed in 2021. Since his contract expires at the end of the 2022-23 season, he will get $23.7 million in pay for the following two seasons.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“A very plugged-in person in the league told me… If Donovan Mitchell were to end up with the Knicks, there could be talks between the Knicks and the Lakers involving Julius [Randle],” Stein said on Spotify Live.</blockquote>



<h2>Julius Randle to return at Lakers?</h2>



Randle was drafted seventh overall by the Lakers in the NBA draft in 2014. L.A. served him well for the first four seasons and allowed him to continue to progress. He inked a two-year contract for $24 million with the New Orleans Pelicans after ending his time in Los Angeles.



He spent the 2018-19 season in New Orleans and chose not to exercise his player option for the 2019-20 season. Then, the 27-year-old moved to the Knicks and was supposed to lead the Knicks into the playoffs, but he had a poor season. As a consequence, the New York Knicks are now thought to be open to revamping their squad.

NBA News: If Donovan Mitchell joins Knicks, Lakers might move for Julius Randle - thesportsdrops NEWS

NBA News: If Donovan Mitchell joins Knicks, Lakers might move for Julius Randle

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More and more money is being poured into the world of sports. It’s especially true in the NBA, where franchise values have risen dramatically in recent years. Not even the COVID-19 pandemic has made much headway in this area.



Since Forbes‘ latest set of estimations, released in February 2022, the average worth of an NBA team has increased by 13% to $2.48 billion, despite the pandemic leaving arenas mostly vacant for the 2020-21 season.



The NBA teams are still less valuable than those in the NFL, on average. The NFL’s average is just under $3 billion per franchise.



<h2>The most valuable NBA&nbsp;team</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="572" src="https://thesportsdrop-news.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/05/New-York-Knicks-players-1024x572.jpg" alt="New York Knicks players" class="wp-image-250" srcset="https://thesportsdrop-news.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/05/New-York-Knicks-players-1024x572.jpg 1024w, https://thesportsdrop-news.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/05/New-York-Knicks-players-300x168.jpg 300w, https://thesportsdrop-news.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/05/New-York-Knicks-players-768x429.jpg 768w, https://thesportsdrop-news.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/05/New-York-Knicks-players.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure></div><figcaption>Nic Antaya/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



There is no other NBA team with a higher value than the New York Knicks as of the&nbsp;2021-22 season. With an estimated value of $5.8 billion, the Knicks once again top Forbes‘ annual club values list.



After the New York Knicks,&nbsp;the Golden State Warriors&nbsp;are valued at $5.6&nbsp;billion as of 2021. There was a huge increase in the average NBA franchise valuation between 2014 and 2021, going up from $634 million to more than $2.48 billion dollars.

New York Knicks

NBA News: If Donovan Mitchell joins Knicks, Lakers might move for Julius Randle

Which is the most valuable NBA team?

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