Julius Randle Discussion: MIP

Well you have to consider that Russell was a 2nd pick drafted ahead of standouts like Porzingis, Booker, Turner, whereas Julius was a 7th pick ahead of... maybe Lavine and Hood?

And Embiid was expected to be Hakeem 2.0 out of college.

So expectations need to be kept in check. I've always been harder on Russell because a 2nd pick is many times more valuable than a 7th pick. There's a reason they were selected at their respective draft positions. Randle wouldn't be considered a bust even if he turns out to be a good role player (which he is already). Russell needs to become a star, nothing less.

 

Randle was one of the most talented prospects in his draft even though he fell. He's been around longer but is as inconsistent as our other young guys. He should be putting it all together at this point but is still very up and down.

He shouldn't get a pass.

 

Oh he doesn't get a pass. None of our players do. I'm just talking about how I set my expectations.

Julius was a #7 pick and that's where his value is at. If you invested $100 and got $110 back, you shouldn't be that disappointed. We got $100 for $10 with Nance and Clarkson. As for Russell and Ingram, we need $200+ back from them. They need to be held to much higher standards. Because that's how much we paid for them.

 

Gotcha. I can understand that approach.

 

So you have a problem with what Julius is saying?

media - "so what do you need to do to turn this around?"
julius - "stay locked in and focused, look yourself in the mirror"

I mean, what else is he supposed to say? Should he refuse to answer to the media? I don't hear him point fingers or give excuses, so I don't know what exactly you're upset about, other than his poor performance on the court, which can be said about most of his teammates with same mundane interviews.

 

We are all judged by our best moments. When you show you can score 25 points, grab a triple double, 18 rebounds, etc..... games with 2-4 points or rebounds don't sit well.

If you are a scrub, nothing is expected. When you show flashes of not just competence, but dominance, fans want to see it consistently.

It's not fans' fault. It's Julius' fault. He raised expectations. Same with DAR. They are both all over the map, and we're like WTH? I mean with Nick Young and Lou Williams you expect it. It's who they are, and it's who they've always been. We're holding onto those flashes of brilliance looking for the next Laker Legend. It that so much to ask? To have back to back all time greats? To constantly be in the Finals?

 

It's not one persons fault, consistency is a big issue for our team, perhaps people just prefer one player over the other so the criticism is less or more etc.

 

To be clear, I don't think we should trade any of our young core outside of some real game changer. I'm also not down on Randle or any of our young guys. I get frustrated watching some of their mistakes and inconsistencies but overall I like this group. I've said several times we've got talent here, the staff just needs time to work with them.

I think they really learned little to nothing under Byron and we are seeing the impact of that. They are learning things they probably would have figured out during their first season if under a better coaching staff. They picked up bad mental habits too that also have to be worked out.

But if we're going to criticize guys, I think everyone should be held accountable for their play. I feel like we have a scapegoat of the week or day around here sometimes where the board picks a guy (usually Russell in my opinion but Randle gets beat up a lot too) and just goes in on for him for any and everything.

There is plenty of blame to go around for the play we are seeing out there. I'm still real optimistic about this group though and hope the front office doesn't do anything rash. I've said several times that any trades would be selling low and I still think that.

Guys are going to have to be patient though.

 

-Sirron nailed it These guys one moment show you something and then they do absolutely nothing the next. It's infuriating to be honest.

-They completely zone out, turn invisible, and make no impact on the game whatsoever. It's unacceptable and downright embarrassing.

 

Agreed. I'm ok calling them out when they play like crap. I sent Julius a "Weak Sauce" twitter message they other day.

Because that's how I roll. I'm also ok rooting for DAR and simultaneously telling him to

If fans are going to drop good money to support their team and make these guys millionaires, they have to expect to be called out when they lay an egg or don't bring it every night. Off nights we get because we are all human.

Not bringing the effort when you get paid millions to play a game for a living and are paid to be in shape?

 

Julius' impact will always depend on his level of effort.

When he's fully engaged, he brings an energy to the floor that is highly contagious. Unfortunately, it goes both ways. When he start walking around, playing half @#& defense, and jogging like a T-Rex down the floor, he brings the energy down.

 

I guess that's what we have to find out this year; he looks a lot better than last year, though, and he's improving. I think much of the issues from our offense stem from him not having a reliable jumper just yet; additionally, it hurts the spacing within our offense. I believe Russell and our offense need another reliable floor-spacer.

On second thought, I probably wouldn't have minded forking the money over to Ryan Anderson this year who's shooting 40% from three this year; just my .002 cents and all.

 

I hope you also sent DAR the Kobe telling him to zip it giph and worded it so it bit him in the a** a bit.

 

more like Juggler-NOT, amirite, people?