One thing is for sure, Randle takes way too much heat on this board. He's been the guy everyone dumps on here and I hate it. That said, no he's not Odom. He has some similarities in his ability to grab the boards and push it up and the fact that they are both left handed and sometimes struggle to use their off hand, although honestly Randle at his young age is doing a hell of a lot better in that department than Odom did. Both Odom and Randle were capable of huge rebounding games and we've seen it from them. Neither guy ever had a real go to move on offense. Randle is a beast whose best attribute is his motor and his quickness and strength for his size. Odom had WAYYYYY better handles, and gigantic upside in terms of his all around basketball gifts. The problem is he rarely lived up to his potential. Odom was a big time underachiever basically until Pau got here and he learned to really focus under Phil Jackson. Odom had much more potential than Randle ever had, but . . . Randle is already learning to maximize his potential and effort on the court for short bursts of play. If he can learn how to extend that further he will always have a place in the NBA IMO.
If Randle continues to play at this level consistently all season long I can’t see the Lakers trading him unless the deal absolutely blows them away.
Well I'm trading him East so we wouldn't have to deal with that, but yes we're talking about trading a kid in order to clear space. Right now the writing is on the wall for LeBron leaving. We just need to find him a running mate. To do that, we'll need to clear room. As of today Randle is low on my list to move, but that's something I'm definitely going to explore at the deadline. First is Clarkson (should be worth something), then Deng (worthless and I don't have much hope), and then probably Randle in order to recoup some assets. If he can net us a 1st in 2019, that pick will hold tremendous value if/when we're competitive. We'll need the cheap, talented labor to fill in around our big stars.
I saw that too .... from the camera angle under the basket. Julius really uses his body well and his elbows have no conscience around the basket.
I'd just go after one of the Big 3 FA's, stretch Deng, and sign Julius. I don't like the idea of dumping our better players for cap space that we may never use, which may lead to signing players that end up being worse than the players we dumped.
^^^Randle playing with emotion and edge is a welcoming sight for sure....but players in today's buddy buddy NBA are too subtle with it. I miss the days when it was blatantly obvious.
Unless Lopez picks things up, I'm starting to warm up to the Cousins train. Never thought I'd say that. :Randallconfused: But if we end up with 1 offseason need, it may end up being center and scoring. Getting both in 1 FA may be too good to pass up. We may end up valuing KCP's D and overall game more by the end of the year, or not. Either way, I'm sure Rob has all of his options open, and we're in a great position to improve and succeed even more next year.
One of my fears all along with the kids when the trade em sentiment was really strong here to bring in older players to appease an LBJ. Doubt there would be appeasement for a PG. Those other players who might not be as good or have as much left as the kid is going to be or have in 2-3 years.
I understand the apprehension, but I'm not making the move today so I don't much care. I'm making that move at the deadline if I'm making it at all. At that point we'll have a great understanding of our own team and a good understand of others. I expect by that time Cleveland is probably 2nd in the East. The Pelicans are probably fighting for the 8th seed in the West. I don't know what our record will be, but we'll be able to say definitively if Lonzo/Kuzma are good enough to attract FAs. If they are, I'm making the move (assuming Randle can net a future 1st).
Our record would fall off a cliff if we traded JC/Randle at the deadline, and Lebron/PG/Cousins will be looking elsewhere.
....and you would be wrong haha. Seriously though, IMHO, its BI and its not even close: win vs Suns: BI +8, Randle -2, Kuz -18 win vs Wiz: BI +9, Randle +3, Kuz +4 win vs Pistons: BI +17, Randle +10, Kuz +8
Not really. It's not necessarily wrong, but that thought has no more validity than saying his play since preseason deserves more minutes.
BI's been playing good the past 3 games, no doubt. But your post only solidifies my belief that +/- is bogus.
That's just an assumption on your part regarding our record and it honestly doesn't even matter. The year before LeBron signed with the Cavs they won 33 games and the year or two before that they were in the 20s. The reason he signed there was the young talent they had (Kyrie) and young pieces they could move to bring in veterans (Wiggins for Love). We are in an extremely similar environment now with Lonzo, Ingram, and Kuzma.
You could say similar, the difference is that Kyrie was an allstar and also the added incentive of bringing a title to his home town, neither of which we have. And Lebron is in a much later stage of his career. He's looking to win immediately. Lonzo, Ingram and Kuzma have promise, but let's be real... the best they could become are above average NBA starters by season's end.
I don't think I need to rewrite the incentives for LeBron to come to Los Angeles. Countless reasons off the court, family reasons, legacy reasons, etc. Lonzo and Kuzma might be NBA starters by the end of the year (Lonzo already is), but whoever he brings with him would equally be the "Kyrie" whether that's George or Cousins. Either of those players is an established All-Star and great player to play alongside. The similarities are striking. Young team with upside that looks to have turned a bit of a corner from the previous awful seasons. The difference is we could jump past the awkward rebuild stages where everyone has to learn each other and just lean into a Top 4 roster to start the year. LeBron and another max contract with Lonzo? That's already three great players with room to add even more. Couple that with Kuzma, Hart, and Nance being cheap ancillary labor and that team is ready to compete right away. Probably not as good as the Warriors, but on par with anybody else in the league in terms of talent.
