It's not going away. The dude has had a suspect attitude from day one. If things aren't going his way, he pouts. He did it with Byron. He did it last year with Luke. He did it again in his first game. It's definitely not a anomaly any more. I guess he thought that because he looks shredded he should be starting.
He should be starting because he's our best PF by a good margin. However that doesn't excuse his attitude. Bench or no, he should give full effort like he's done all summer and all preseason.
he thought he should start because he's lightyears better than Nance and Deng. Of course he should have better body language, but maybe there's a reason he's not "buying in." What has Walton done to earn the trust of this team? Absolutely nothing. We have no offense or defense, no rotations, and the lineups we're trotting out are laughable. I'm all for being a professional, but when you do everything that is asked of you and you're behind 2 guys that shouldn't start for any NBA team, I get the frustration. Boron moved him to the bench when he was playing at a high level too. The only constant here is that Julius is made the scapegoat when plenty of guys deserve the blame.
He did have a poor game last night, but he has every right to disagree and be pissed off at what is happening with him. - Absolutely zero leash to make mistakes compared to teammates - Randle makes a mistake, pulled immediately and benched, Ingram makes 5 mistakes in a row keep it up you are so special our 20ppg player. Nance makes mistakes, what a glue guy, he does all the little things, you bring nothing offensively, that's ok here's the starting job you don't deserve. Being treated the same way DAR was. They clearly don't want him playing a big part in the future, much like they treated DAR. The pattern is repeating itself and it's pretty evident. - Top player relegated to bench/garbage time - Like it or not outside of Lopez, he's our next best player. Much like DAR last year, that doesn't matter as non-deserving players are in the spotlight being thrust in positions they aren't ready for, while the ones that have shown at times they can get pushed back into constantly changing roles. Start at PF, oh no now come off the bench, ok start again, nope you made some mistakes, do something else sound familiar? (DAR PG, SG, bench, revolving door of roles) - Constant trade talks, not even sniffing extension - Ingram/Nance untouchable in trades, but wait he's better than both and it's his name constantly popping up in trades, while the FO is fully committed to two guys that we routinely every night have to say stop shooting the ball and start shooting the ball. - Improve your shooting, improve your conditioning, work on your defense and your role will expand - By all accounts he's shown that he is (Shooting) and has (Conditioning and defense) yet he's being fed crap lines like come off the bench, you still don't fit, etc. Meanwhile Ingram/Nance/Clarkson haven't shown much of any improvement and some regression in parts and it's look how well you are doing, 20ppg superstar, starting PF, sixth man of the year! Randle definitely needs to improve the attitude and still come out and compete every night, but to act like the deck is constantly being stacked against him (And DAR last year) and not seeing that he's being shunned in more ways that one is not right. Maybe Magic/Luke should get off the junior high sports theme of playing favorites that can do no wrong and put the big boy pants on and start playing their best players and removing bias from their decision making.
I agree. Randle is better than Nance, Deng, and I hate to say it, Kuzma too (for now). And he should start. But he shoots so freaking much, like he's an all star, and does DUMB stuff on the court that I can't justify him getting the FGAs he does (Clarkson too). Tonight he'll have a charging call within 5 minutes of entering the game. Guaranteed. Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. He just doesn't learn. And the turnovers. 3 point shots. Ugh. I just despise him.
Talking about Randle? He took 8 shots (making 4) and 1 three pointer. Yes he has a couple bonehead plays each game, but he's vastly superior to anyone else we have and I don't agree that he doesn't learn. I feel like your post would be a spot-on description of Ingram so far. When Randle was 20, he at least brought rebounding every night. Ingram has been a net negative every night except the first SL game.
I don't disagree that he's our best pf and should be starting. But his bad attitude goes far beyond his benching. If he's not getting the ball enough on offense, if he misses a few easy shots, if his dude burns him on a play you can see him give up and start trotting.
hes our new eddie jones but obviously not as good...just remember eddie name being in trade rumors every off season once kobe arrived
Eddie Jones never stopped trying though. And Eddie Jones was being "pushed" into trade rumors because he had a top 10 all timer nipping at his heels.
I get it. I really do, but as with every player's pathetic performance last night, I'm starting to question the leadership from the coaching staff. What person that watched a single Lakers game last year would have Deng start at SF? Magic said it's imperative that every player work in the offseason and come to camp in shape, and the one guy who clearly doesn't care at all manages to crack the starting lineup? That alone is enough to make me question Walton's judgment at this point.
Randle should be starting. For all his flaws, he's still our best four man and by a good margin. That's the bottom line.
That's a different conversation and I agree that Luke is starting to lose me as a supporter. But I don't want to just let Randle off the hook for his bad attitude last night because it's clearly become a pattern.
Agree with everything you said. Randle has done everything the FO asked for and he's rewarded by being benched. Luke is a joke. A player's coach my a**. You can't f*** with Randle's head and expect him to react positively. If you want consistent effort/play from your players you need to provide stability. You can't shuffle rotations and roles every other game. Our coach has lost grip of our 2nd best player. What a shame.
I don't think it's quite as clear as others see it. There's definitely a pattern of having some moments, but I feel like he usually gets himself out of it. The problem is he's held to a different standard and I think that is taking its toll. If the team came out working on D and moving the ball, then by all means bench a guy when he's not doing his job. However, when the entire team embarrasses right from tip off, I find it frustrating that the last guy to enter the game, who also happens to be our best forward, is the one with the shortest leash.
You still go out and play your game. You don't take it out on the team. That's selfish and immature. He does this all the time when he doesn't get the ball fed to him. Big baby.
Honestly if I were Julius I'd go straight to the media and say I don't trust my coach. F*** Luke. It's his contract year and he deserves better.
