Channing Frye understands the risk and pain that awaits Julius Randle. He also recommends that the power forward stay put because the Knicks are competing with him in the lineup.
Former Knick Frye also dislocated his shoulder in the NBA, avoided surgery as much as possible, and prioritized winning until a second dislocation put him under the knife.
And even though Frye still has trouble raising his arm, he doesn’t regret it at all.
“You just have to be ready. If you’re just committed to playing, there’s going to be some stuff that’s going to totally hurt. Flat out. It’s going to hurt,” Frye told the Post. Ta. “But it may not be every game. For me, Julius, he will have to adapt quickly.”
Frye, who currently works as a studio analyst for TNT and NBATV, missed just five games with the Suns after his initial departure in 2011.
He finished that season with Phoenix falling just short of the playoffs, but then returned, only to have his shoulders lifted again towards the end of the following season.
Mr. Frye said he was off work for five to six months as a result of the surgery, but he was forced to take a longer leave of absence after doctors discovered an enlarged heart during a medical examination.
Without surgery, the recurrence rate is high. A 2019 study published in the Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine found that more than 40% of NBA players suffer a second dislocation after a “shoulder instability event.”
Still, Randle, who dislocated his shoulder in late January, is undergoing rehabilitation with the aim of returning by the end of this season.
Randle on Thursday missed his 13th straight game with no plans to return, but the goal is to get him ready for the playoffs. Mr Fry warned that this was a difficult and sometimes painful process and would require engaging in tedious rehabilitation.
It worked for Frye, at least in the short term, as he played a lot of minutes after his initial dislocation, scoring more than 30 points in two games.
He even played 57 minutes in a triple OT game against the Lakers, wearing braces on his shoulders that were retightened by the training staff if he felt uncomfortable.
“I don’t know how much it helped, but mentally I know it was like a little blanket when things weren’t going well,” Frye said. “Stay strong, Coach. Buckle up.”
If the Knicks want to make the playoffs, they’ll need someone like that from Randle.
“[Randle’s] I’m a very physical person. He then draws a foul by moving the ball into his opponent’s chest and out of the way. When people get cut down and you try to move up, it takes time to rebuild the torn or damaged muscles,” Frye said. “And every time it stretches or tugs or tugs, it doesn’t feel good.
“On a scale of 1 to 10, the pain is an 8 or 9 in my situation. It was definitely an 8 or 9. But I wanted to play. And I didn’t want to have surgery on my shooting arm. .”
Fortunately, Randle sustained a non-shooting shoulder injury. But he also relies on more physicality than Frye, who was a finesse/jump-shooting big man before retiring in 2019.
“For him, he’s a great guy. Make sure to rehab every day,” said Frye, who wore a shoulder brace upon his return. “surely.”
“I had to rehabilitate myself from a bad situation,” Frye added. “If you have practice at 9 o’clock, you have a whole hour just for shoulder practice, so you have to be there at 8 o’clock. Warm up to stretch. It’s just something you have to do.”
And Frye, who tore his labrum in the first dislocation, believes it was all worth it.
“This is the regular season. This is the playoffs. And the Knicks are doing well this year. The Knicks are very good. I’m going to rehab, too,” Frye said. “I wouldn’t have had the surgery either. It’s nothing after all. I think they have a chance to make some noise as punchers.”
Frye added that Randle is the Knicks’ most talented player, even better than Jalen Brunson.
“F— yeah. I don’t think that’s a harsh view,” Frye said. “He’s 6-9, 280. And he was in the MVP conversation three years ago. Does Jalen Brunson have more skill and a better feel for the game? Yeah, probably. But who’s the most talented? It’s not even close. I’m sure they would say that too.”
