Julius Randle is already attacking Knicks’ biggest issue

Everything is new and fresh to Julius Randle. It’s why he felt it important to get together with six of his teammates in Los Angeles last month to bond and work out.

It’s also why he wanted to be at Rucker Park on Saturday to get a feel of New York culture.

The Knicks’ marquee signing handed out back-to-school bookbags at a kids festival in the iconic Harlem park. The 6-foot-9 power forward never played here during the summer as many NBA players have, but he wanted to experience it.

“Actually, it’s my first time here,’’ the Texas-born Randle told The Post. “You know about Rucker. My wife [Kendra] and I said we’d put this event together in Harlem, and it’s the first place we thought of. We’re excited.’’

Randle — who signed a three-year, $63 million deal with the first two guaranteed — has worked out tirelessly this offseason, knowing a lot of the load will fall on him. The 2014 Lakers lottery pick is coming off a career year in which he averaged 21.4 points and 8.7 rebounds for the Pelicans.

Chemistry could be the Knicks’ big issue more than talent, Randle said. That’s why their get-together in L.A. was crucial. After Labor Day, players start to come to New York for informal workouts as training camp beginning Sept. 30.

“It was amazing,’’ Randle said of the L.A. workouts. “Playing 2-on-2, 3-on-3. We got a lot of new guys — we signed seven, we got two rookies RJ [Barrett] and Iggy [Brazdeikis]. It’s important for us to get to know each other, spend time together on the court before training camp starts.

“There’s a lot of new pieces. Everyone’s going to be trying to figure out their role. Coach [David Fizdale] is going to do a great job of helping us through that. If we want to be a good team and have a chance, we have to jump-start that process ourselves.”

Randle, 24, pulled out of Team USA’s World Cup roster because of family issues. A source said he needed to be around and the commitment overseas was too long. Team USA already misses him, losing in an exhibition in Australia on Friday night.

Randle is just focused on the Knicks’ fortunes. Expectations have been set low with Las Vegas putting an Over-Under win total at 28.

“It’s easy to do that because the last couple of seasons have been hard,’’ Randle said. “It’s easy to underestimate us. But we’re a deep team. We’re a very deep 1-to-15 with guys who can play. If they underestimate us, I don’t care.”

Few will dispute Randle’s scoring prowess, but his knock is defense and being a willing passer.

Asked what he’s worked on this summer, Randle said, “A lot. Making my offensive game more efficient and defensively watching tape and see how I can be better.’’

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