I don't disagree. Randle's behavior is unacceptable. I prioritize team success over individual success, so I really don't have much of an issue with the Randle benching. However, team success is the sum of it's parts. Talent wins games. People can believe what they want, but beast mode Randle is a terror for opposing teams. Whether we trade him, play him, or bury him on the bench, a pouting Randle is bad for our team. I'm not pointing fingers. I'm just saying that Luke needs to fix the situation asap.
I'm still waiting for Randle to show me any go to Basketball Fundamentals. Sure, he can go "Beast Mode". The dude is strong & quick, but in order to be a consistent NBA Player, he needs a solid set of true basketball skills. The only thing I've seen a slight improvement in since he's been in the League is his mid range jumper. He has no post up game, is an average defender & his drives to the basket are off balance & chaotic.. I'm honestly starting to lose hope.. & I was a big Fan of his.
I hate making comparisons between young players cause each player is his own man and their potential hasn't been realized yet....however its hard to ignore the intangibles here. Randle got married during the summer and is coming into a contract extension year. You can speculate that his hard work during the offseason was 2 fold. Meanwhile, BI is a 2nd year player...is nowhere near a contract extension...doesn't have to look cute for wedding pics...and still was a gym rat over the summer. The FO comments on how great Randle looks and applauds him for his hard work. Meanwhile, BI is tagged as "untouchable" in trade discussions and the next cornerstone for our franchise to build around. Clearly there are people in the organization that know extensively about what these guys are doing over the summer...so that observation alone is pretty damning for Randle and his future here. IMHO, its all in between the ears. One guy pouts when he can't meet a challenge, while the other guy keeps at it even with his recent struggles and lofty expectations. Both players are going through some trying times, but its the way they approach adversity that tells me alot about whether a player has "it" or not. DLo faces adversity and instead of owning up to it, he deflects, becomes aloof and didn't really win anyone over with his attitude. Meanwhile, look at a guy like Zo who doesn't care about the triple double and was more interested in the W last night. I understand its a small sample size, but even with such a limited window you can already see the difference between these 2 guys...its all in between the ears. As a fan, you naturally gravitate to Zo, so I can only imagine how coaches and players feel towards him. Zo has "it"...while DLo didn't and its pretty damn obvious now, even with a limited sample size. That's how glaring it is. Both DLo and Randle had time with Kobe. They both got to see that work ethic and absolute relentlessness in developing their respective games. Yet both those guys never really got "it". Why did it take Randle getting married and a contract year to finally get his butt to hit the offseason hard? I would have loved Zo and BI to have intern years under Kobe, cause I think DLo and Randle have both blown it in that regard. Randle is definitely a goner...we just have to tread lightly, in that we have to make sure we find the right home for Randle, so that Mintz can still guide PG back home to us.
Good luck finding a home for Randle. Remember what we got for Odom? Think less. Much less. Disgruntled players don't fetch much. Mishandling this situation will not end well for us.
Meh ...... all it will take is for Luke and FO to better handle this with communication and then Julius will have one of these.
to be fair to randle, ingram never gets jerked around even when he performed poorly, randle gets jerked around even when he performs well
JR is not going to feel treated well and will have bitter feelings, justifiably so, when he leaves the Lakers. This guy has worked on his body and game as much as anybody, yet he catches heat. I'm hoping he goes to a team that is a better fit and that can make the most of what he has to offer. He's not a bad player, I just think the Lakers have been so screwed up that it was not the place for a young guy like him that had to change his game. A full court bull in a china shop doesn't fit here. That being said, I bet Pop or another good coach/organization could figure out how to use him effectively. JR just needs to focus on trying get a max on that next contract at this point.
Randle doesn’t look like he’s worked on his game at all. He looks like exactly the same player he was two years ago. He still can’t shoot. Makes mental mistakes defensively. Bully ball doesn’t work anymore. Other than bulldozing someone he has no post moves. He’s at best a backup 4 right now and that’s dissapointing.
Still plays the same. Half a**. What's so great if he's been working on his physique and still plays the same... he can now play half a** even longer? Spent so much time working out he forgot to actually improve his game
I don't think so cause LO demanded out. He was hurt in that CP3 trade cause his contract wasn't even really needed for the trade to work. He was a salary dump in that doomed CP3 trade and that would have given LA nearly a 9M trade exemption....which we ended up getting anyway with the Dallas trade. We were dumping LO for nothing, after a 6th man of the year season he just earned...so comparing that to Randle's situation is well..incomparable. LO pouting was completely reasonable. Factor in the contract as well with Randle being able to either get an extension with his new team...have his new team match any contract he gets as an RFA next summer....or even conduct a S&T with him next summer. Randle's situation is much more team friendly compared to LO's contract. Plus the Mavs leveraged us cause they new LO wanted out at that point. I'm sure we can get pretty good value back if we just trade Randle by himself. However, the only tricky part is if Rob is slick enough to slip Deng's deal in with any proposed Randle trade package. Then we'll get pennies on the dollar, but at least that Deng deal is off the books. Again, Jimmy and Mitch royally screwed us on the way out (and that is why folks really have a bad taste in their mouth about any type of 20XXplan...its cause Jim/Mitch screwed the pooch so badly by striking out on FAs, in some cases, not even securing meetings...and then at the strike of midnight they literally throw all our cap away that took years to accumulate.)
To be fair he put in a ton of work this summer and came with a good attitude and it wasn't enough. I understand being upset. I do not however accept letting that frustration reach a real game. You want to get crazy in practice? You want to get into Luke's face when you're in the locker room? I don't mind that. I do mind negatively affecting your brothers on the floor.
And what if Randle demands a trade? Because that may be the best move for him and his agent at this point. Again, we do not want this situation to escalate.
the play where nance switched onto booker, deflected his pass, dove on the ground to retrieve it, then hit lopez for the breakaway dunk--if randle ever did this, he'd be the starter. i'd just show him this film over and over again.
Plus also what you and Real brought up in the Nance thread about standing up for Brew. It makes a world of difference for the culture and the team. It's why I'm so hesitant to trade Nance away. Only way I part with him is if he's a sweetener for a star, otherwise you need his like that in the locker room...and being on that pay grade makes him even more valuable in that regard. Tada: I agree with you...we wouldn't want it to escalate to the point of demanding a trade.
Magic and Pelinka aren't trading Nance. They love him. He's a locker room glue guy. They understand his worth goes way beyond his stat line.
