Julius Randle spent a half-decade lifting the Knicks from cellar-dwellers to contenders, only to get traded away before they finally earned a championship. 

Now he’s back in the city, across town in Brooklyn, happy to have seen his old teammates become winners while trying to help his new ones on the Nets do the same. 

“I’m happy [for the Knicks], man,” said Randle, one of the first Nets to utter that phrase. “I kept in touch with guys. I’ve had a lot of great moments here in the city. I spent five years here, my family has grown here; so I was extremely excited, happy for those guys. A lot went into that; it’s not just myself, years before me. 

“So, just happy for those guys. I was just last month on a trip with OG [Anunoby] in Brazil, just kicking it, talking with each other. So it was a great thing, not just for them, for the organization, [but] for the city that has craved that — we know how New York is — so has craved that winning formula, winning environment. And we plan to do the same thing here.” 

As a soon-to-be 32-year-old — one who’ll be linked in trade rumors, since he can opt into unrestricted free agency next summer — Randle might not be around long enough for that. But almost anything is possible. The Knicks proved that. 

Randle arrived in the Garden in 2019, joining a Knicks team that was a league-worst 17-65 and had gone six seasons without the playoffs. Two years later, Randle made his first All-Star game, and he had them back in the postseason. 

But two years ago this month, Randle was traded to Minnesota in a three-team deal that brought Karl-Anthony Towns to the Garden. 

Randle wasn’t around to see the Knicks close the deal this June. And the end of his tenure with the Timberwolves was bittersweet … and desultory. 

After averaging 12.8 points and .342 shooting in Minnesota’s second-round defeat — finishing with three points on 1-for-8 shooting in Game 6, and blowing off his exit interview — Randle came under fire and was traded again. 

Anthony Edwards said Monday that he missed Naz Reid, but conspicuously didn’t mention Randle, and said he was pleased with the roster as is. 

“I’m gonna miss Naz for sure; that’s my brother. But I’m super happy about the changes in the locker room,” Edwards said in what many saw as a slight to Randle. 

But in need of an on-ball scorer, floor raiser and experience, the Nets are confident Randle is the right sort of veteran to guide their youngsters. 

“Everything [I’d] heard was not good but great, as a person, family man, worker, ultimate pro, about the right things,” Jordi Fernandez said. “He’s been in eight playoff rounds, [three]-time All-Star. 

“He’s going to impact what we’re trying to do here. … He’s coming here to get better, to lead by example. So, very happy before when we were trying to get him — and now that I’ve got [him], I couldn’t be happier.” 

Randle is happy to be back in New York, never wanting to leave. 

Now he’s back, older and wiser. When asked if he ever feels his veteran status, Randle joked “Yeah, I feel it every single day. … I’ve reached Unc status for sure.” 

Tasked with teaching the league’s youngest squad, teammates have asked him about playing alongside the late Kobe Bryant. 

Both Fernandez and GM Sean Marks will rely on Randle to lead, with Fernandez saying he’ll “challenge” the All-NBA forward. 

“I love to be coached, and there’s different ways he’ll challenge me in parts of the game, whether it’s my rebounding or if it’s running the floor or if it’s being better on defense,” Randle said. “I’m not afraid to be coached, and whatever he needs to do, you should coach your best players the hardest. 

“If he needs something from me, he’ll call me. So it’s a great relationship. But communication is key, and trust. So he’s been great at building that with me, and I trust him fully; so it’s been good.”