No, but you were comparing JR to Kobe and MJ. My point was that his internal makeup seems much more like Shaq minus the class clown act, than it does Kobe. A very select few are hyper-self-motivated. Shaq was not and clearly JR is not either. Still can be very productive with someone like Magic breathing down his neck.
Julius has said on more than one occasion he needs those boundaries to be the best version of himself. Magic holding him to a high standard is precisely what Julius needs. He needs hands on guidance and no that's not ideal, but at least we're there right now. I also think it's important to note that we've had one of the more dysfunctional organizations since Julius was drafted. He may not have been getting the type of leadership he needs to be successful, the losing weighs on a kid, and he's out of sorts and away from what makes him great. I'm not ready to say that his physical transformation is a contract thing. Keep in mind, Julius was the most improved of our young players despite his deficiencies. Julius averaged more points, increased his FG%, increased his assists per game, increased his offensive/defensive rating ratio, increased his VORP, more than doubled his win-shares, and did this all while having nearly the exact same usage percentage as the year before. Obviously he averaged 1.5 less defensive rebounds which was not ideal, but the kid is a hard worker even if he doesn't have it all going on in his head on the floor. Personally, I think his fitness is a great sign that he (along with all the guys so far) is buying in to what Lonzo is about and what Magic and Rob are about. I don't think this is as much about his contract necessarily as it is about wanting to stay a Laker.
i'm not even sure he cares about staying a laker, but i do think randle has pride. he's getting in shape because he's realized it's important to get where he wants to be. he thinks he's a star, and he wants to prove it. i'm not sure i agree, but more power to him!
I'm rooting for the guy, if we want to look improved as a team this season his play being better and more consistent is going to be a big factor. If he doesn't end up getting a contract to stay with us, at least if he does well he can get paid elsewhere.
Or if they know what's happening in the off season, flip him for future assets. I'm having a tough time seeing the fit if the goal is LeFlop and PG
Well, yeah, but you let this new slimmed down Randle go out and impress first, pump up his value, THEN you use him to dump the Anchor's contract before the deadline.
How about ..... warning Julius turns into a unicorn fantasy ..... "rooting" for the scenario where Julius does put it all together and turns into solid defender, small ball rim protector, decent 3pt shooter plus mid range, elite rebounder and absolute beast in the open court? Rather than rooting for him getting good enough to use to dump Deng? Randle home town discount, Paul George comes in. Save the cap not spent on LeBi*** and go after Klay the following year.
I like your plan but once 18' FA are signed I really dont think we'll have cap space for sometime, unless deng is moved for nothing and only PG is signed along with Randle. We can't afford to reup KCP/Lopez if you still hope to have cap space by time Klay is available.
I'm hoping if Randle becomes that Draymond Green type guy (unicorn fantasy but not out of the realm of possibility with new body / conditioning and Magic in his head) that Clarkson and other of our newest young pieces not named Ball or Kuzma, become attractive enough with an unprotected 1st round pick and whatever other picks necessary. To move Deng. Maybe he looks better this year too. We can hope. We have god knows enough young pups in the organization already.
Sure I know this invites the pot meet kettle comments but remember this is the "New" and improved Julius we're talking about here. https://www.silverscreenandroll.com...s-news-lonzo-ball-advice-julius-randle-quotes
I've always been a fan and supporter of Julius here (among the not so many of us). I thought he was a great pick at 7 and I love his Beast-ly moments. I'm hoping he can really improve his weaknesses (team D and outside shooting being the major ones for me) this season and move closer to his all around potential. Luke feels like he's going to have a break out year and I hope he does. I'm going to remain cautiously optimistic. But even I'm dubious that he'll be able to make the full jump into a keeper for us at the position. The things that he's weak at seem to be the very strengths that I'm seeing from Kuzma who has good defensive instincts, can cover 1-4 and can drill the threes at a high percentage. Kuzma spaces the floor well, makes great passes and is quick on his feet for switches. He also sets good screens and rolls well or gets open for pick and pop. That all seems to be very natural for him and with Randle it does not. On the other hand, I do like what Randle can do - he's a better, stronger rebounder than Kuzma, he can push the ball up on the break Ala Odom, and he's a good bully ball offensive player. Kuzma's strengths though seem a lot more suited to Luke's offense and he's a great fit next to Lonzo.
I expect Julius to look fantastic in stretches this upcoming season. I expect him to look like a new man on the break. I expect him to at least start the season with tremendous defensive energy. I still expect that the Lakers are unlikely to keep him around unless we strike out on FAs in the summer.
This is where I'm stuck at. I just feel like if Julius is still here past this year it means free agency went bad.
eh, it could mean his season went incredibly well, right? i mean, lebron could get traded to houston for ryan anderson midseason with the way things are going. at that point, we'd be hoping for randle to emerge as a star to help sell george on joining the team.
no it doesn't, it means plenty of things, one could be only netting 1 max fa and if he's still here could also mean he's good enough to warrant a return which I dont consider a bad thing at all
Possibly. What if he absolutely balls out and is Larry Johnson 2.0? We sign PG-13 to play sg and we're all set. We'd have a young exciting team that'll hit it's stride right as the Warriors start to get older. Nothing would make me happier than Rob and Magic deciding to give Randle a max deal. I don't believe Magic or Rob would give it to him unless he was worth every penny of it, especially with Kuzma and Nance already on the roster. So if he gets it, it's means we're set at point guard, small forward and power forward and PG-13 is coming on to complete us.
I would find it unlikely that Randle plays well enough to rival adding LeBron, but if that happens then yes I'll gladly keep him. However, if Randle plays well enough to rival LeBron and we still have two max spots open (or close to it), then why wouldn't we add LeBron instead of George? We'd have two LeBrons and a Lonzo. Game over.
