Seems appropriate at this early stage of Randle's career, like it was with Bynum at a very early stage of his career as a Laker, when a same type of discussion happened with the classic "Bynum Will Never Be Special" thread (RIP Clublakers).... that we do the same for Julius. Stakes are every bit as high and they each had already gotten in better shape than when they came to the Lakers but were still unpolished, major works in progress. Both however had already shown real flashes of truly exciting potential in game situations. Drew in early NBA games and Julius in Summer League and Pre-season last year. Both topics were pre-mature and unfair to them but hey that's never stopped us.... :jack: I was on the side of "yes" he will be with Andrew. I feel equally strong now from what I've seen to date, and gotten to know of the man from his interviews .... that Julius is going to be too. Hopefully he has better luck physically in his career to keep it going much longer.
I'm not sure I see the Bynum vs Randle comparison. Randle had an NBA body in college. Bynum was fat and his body wasn't even full grown (he grew 1 inch his rookie year) when he came into the league. He was also extremely raw from an NBA skills standpoint. Which was both good and bad since he was basically a blank canvas when Kareem started working with him. He had no bad habits that Kareem had to fix. Bynum had the advantage of being a true 7-footer with a huge wingspan while he learned the game. His poorly developed body and skillset during his early years were partially overcome due to his massive size. Randle's body was NBA ready in college. His ballhandling and passing are above average for a PF. And unlike Bynum, he's a bit of a tweener. He also has terrible habits that a raw recruit like Bynum didn't have. Like Stu mentioned in the game, he has terrible habit of not reading the defense. That habit didn't hurt him so much against lousy high school and college defenses. It's killing him against NBA defenders. And despite a horrible summer league, he doesn't seem to be able to adjust his method of attacking the defense. I do agree that we need to be patient with him. But his development is going to be more about him adjusting to the NBA and cleaning up bad habits, which can be a bit irritating.
Personally I never thought randle was going to be a special player. My guess is he will be a very solid player.
revgen Yes to what you said about how he looked fresh out of high school and the MacDonalds All American game (am I remembering right?) but I think when that topic was posted he already had Big Man Camp and pounds shaved off his frame and some actual flashes of real promise shown in game conditions. We all had seen those flashes to weigh whether they would be enough to make him special in the current NBA climate back then. Randle clearly not in a groove now, yet, in coming back from the major injury .... but we have seen the "flashes" of potential starting last year. That's where it is coming from. Sure he has problems, this very point in time, like Drew did when that topic was posted, along with those "flashes".
I think some of the concerns are valid with Randle. He has real issues we keep seeing that he needs to continue to work on. All reports say he is working his butt off on everything and now working with Worthy too, so we have to give him time. Expectations are high for sure, because we took him 7th, but honestly, if he's never a star I'd be happy with a quality starting caliber PF for many years. Even with lottery picks that isn't a guarantee, plenty of guys bust. I see too much talent in Randle for him to be a bust though. Also, with who was taken ahead of him and shortly after him, it currently doesn't appear to me we made a mistake or anything close to it. I don't hear much talk about Aaron Gordon, Marcus Smart, Joel Embiid, Nik Stauskus, Noah Vonleh, or Elfrid Payton tearing it up out there. And Exum is out the year with a torn ACL, and didn't exactly look fantastic last season either. It was the absolute right pick IMO, Randle has more talent than any of those guys, it's about putting it all together. Like you say, we have to give it time. There are legit things he needs to fix, but we have to remember he had a major injury and couldn't play competitive ball for a loooong time
Good kid, hard worker, passionate about the game, quality character, humble, seeks knowledge and advice. I'm with Weezy, he won't be Karl Malone, but who is? I'm excited about a 10 year solid building block that can potentially man that position for years. The Lakers have always gotten to the top with the addition of free agents or trades, so this next time around won't be any different. He's an outstanding raw talent with a willingness to put in the work to refine his craft. Hard to ask for more than that from a kid who is 20 or 21? Mature beyond his years so far from what I see. Way too early to be too harsh in his assessment. I truly think the year off helped him learn some things about the game as well from a mental standpoint, but connecting those things with the physical execution side doesn't happen overnight. No one misses a year and comes back better than where they left off.
@LTLakerFan I agree that he's shown flashes of potential and I'm hoping he eventually gains confidence and consistency.
I think us drafting Russel is a great thing for Julius. The two of them can become very good at the pick and roll. Russel has the build, strength and athleticism to be a pretty good screen and roll player. Not to mention Dloading is one hell of a passer.
I loved Bynum but he was 17 when he started so those doom and gloomers were a bit premature. Julius progress on the other hand is a bit concerning which hopefully gets corrected. He just can't finish properly and his ingame shot is broken. Randle somehow has the Sasha syndrome at the moment. A lion in practice, a sheep in actual games.
What are you talking about? Yes, Randle missed his open shots, so did everyone on the team not named Kelly. But he still grabbed 7 rebounds, pushed the ball up the floor after boarding and hit guys for assists. You're comparing a career underachiever with a guy who has only played a handful or so of pre-season games and is essentially a 19 year old rookie? Come on now. Let's see how Randle develops over the course of a whole NBA season or two before we get overly concerned about him. Talk about premature.
I'm also surprised by the harsh reaction to Randle. I'm honestly not really worried about him either. I expect him to start hitting those shots he misses close to the basket which should give him a lot more confidence all around. It's definitely way too early to give up on him.
In all honesty, Randle's probably right where he should be in terms of development. It's just that we've been hearing all summer about how he's a beast in practice, so that's where our expectations have been set... by our imaginations. He's not a beast... yet... and that's okay.
This thread is dumb. Bynum was at one point the 2nd best, arguably the best, center in the league He helped us win 2 championships. If Randle helps us get 2 rings then he's special in my book.
Were you a member of Clublakers at that time and remember how "pre-mature" the thread title on Andrew was to make that kind of definitive career capping statement? You're missing the point.
This alone can carry you pretty far if you have an NBA body with the potential for great skills. As it is, he's shown he has some great athletic qualities. He just hasn't grown in to them at an NBA level and LAL fans want results now. If you look at the pattern of big men entering the NBA, that's just not happening, especially if you jump in trying to play, as Kobe calls it, Odom and Malone's game. Huge learning curve with a huge mountain to ascend and tbh, it may not happen this year or next. We need to be patient where Randle is concerned and stop giving theoretical evaluations of his talent cap. You start digging up summer league and first year performances of big men in this league and you'll see it's a steep slope.
I agree. He's going to look great some games, not do great un others. Fans will need to be patient. We will have a solid idea of what we have after the next 2 seasons.
I feel the same about Randle as I did last preseason - he has the "IT" quality. He's captivating when he's on the court and I feel like no one including him, knows exactly what his next move is out there. He's surprising and usually in a very good way. Sometimes he's out of control, but most of the time he's doing something really cool. His first step is so quick. He just has a world of untapped talent. Like Weezy said, stay healthy, kid! Looking forward to seeing you play and develop this year.
