In the games I watched I didn't see anything special from Brown, honestly. I didn't get to watch the last two games but I don't think he should take a roster spot this season. Nance on the other hand I'm okay with taking a spot...I think being around the team will help him. Practicing with Kobe etc. And I also think he's the perfect practice body for our A-squad and hell B-squad, to matchup against for scrimmages and drills.
JULIUS RANDLE PROJECTIONS Scoring Efficiency: 5.52 Passing Efficiency: 2.16 Hustle Efficiency: 3.36 Position: BIG Positional Efficiency: 79 -At present, Randle is a bully with a ridiculously good first step. His handles are excellent for a PF, and he works hard on the glass. With an improved jumper, there is no reason he cannot be a 20 PPG scorer, but his jumper is not there yet. Role: Starter Brandon Bass might be a better player right now than Julius Randle is, but by season's end, Randle should be significantly better. LA likely banks on developing Randle at 20-28 MPG in the starting lineup and never looks back. Player Comparison: Z-bo Randle is a very difficult player to find a comparison to. Randle might not have the handles Lamar Odom did, but he has greater strength. He projects to numbers similar to Carlos Boozer, but the style of play is very different; Randle is far more physical. Zach Randolph might be the closest.
The problem is Randolph doesn't have anywhere near the handles/speed that Randle has... It's blasphemous for NBA fans to say this but his best comparison to a player today is probably a guy like LeBron. Unstoppable offensively due to his physical profile. Obviously he's nowhere near as all-around talented as LeBron, but he's got that super unique body type that has so much potential. His best comparison is probably Barkley or Larry Johnson, but they don't play anymore.
I'll tackle this. It's difficult to respond to it for many reasons. I'll begin with the necessary caveat: everyone knows (I think) how overhyped LeBron is. I am no fan in any way of James. All that said, Randle doesn't have the vision, handles, or passing that LeBron does. He doesn't have the jumper that James now has (not that James's is great, mind you). But in terms of style of play, not skill level or even athleticism, Randle probably does play a lot like James from a few seasons ago. I think I was on board when we got Randle with an early Barkley comparison. I'm okay with that.
I don't see the Randolph comparison and definitely not the Barkley/Johnson/LeBron ones either. All those guys had significantly more advance games when they came in the league than Randle. If we're talking across the parking lot resemblance then OK. If we're talking skill sets then no. Each of those guys were relentless on both ends from the start. I see him more in the development track of a Derrick Favors. He's more physically skilled but I think the timeline will be similar. Randle will have a larger role initially than Favors and he will be a more exciting player but I think the skills he needs to be near complete will take some time to develop at this level. I actually think a detriment to his development will be his incredible mobility. He's thinking Shooting guard when he gets the ball when he should be thinking PF. On the "hard" side of half court I'm not sure he's engaged much at all at this point. Summer league is tough to evaluate players. The level of competition is very low compared to the NBA (sometimes even less that a good college conference) and there is no time to learn the system you are playing in. Pre-season will be a much better view of him, Russell and the rest of the youngins.
I think the Barkley comparison is a good one. Sir Charles was raw talent in his rookie year. He went for 14/8, which is reachable by Randle this year. In his second year Charles jumped to 20/12 which may not be reachable for Randle. Charles continued to improve the following two years. At that point he hit super star level. No way to tell if Randle will ever get there, but he does have the P word.
Agreed....LeBron and Randle share only the fact that they are both physical freight trains who like to drive to the basket and that both have above-average handles for their size/position. After that.....there's limited similarities to LeBron. LeBron is a floor general and is now a good jump shooter, and his IQ and effort on the defensive boards is much better. That being said, can Randle develop a LeBron like game? Absolutely. Not the court vision though. Randle is more one-track minded, he looks to get his on offense. Setting other guys up is very secondary. He might be a similar physical specimen to LeBron but they are very different on the court IMO. I like the Z-bo comparison but Randle has a much better faceup game and handles. I always said if Randle reaches his peak he might be a new breed of NBA player.
BTW, I meant how overhyped LeBron is - IN MY VIEW. I think I agree with all of that except one part on the faceup game. I think Z-bo has a better jumper right now. On the move, Randle's better.
Here's hoping Kobe can teach Randle even 1/3 his footwork and back to the basket game. Something LeBron never really got.
Ha - no need to qualify any LeBron skepticism here. He was overhyped to me until this past Finals run. I saw the dude carry a team for the first time in his life (int he Playoffs). He's still not Kobe
I'd love that. I get that sense from Randle in watching him play that he's more eager than diligent. What I mean is Kobe had a balance between his eagerness to destroy you and the diligence to learn the proper fundamentals to destroy you by outsmarting you as much as he used his athleticism to do it. Randle just tries to out-physical you....he seems less patient and diligent. More eager to bulldoze you and less patient and diligent to use what the defense gives you. That could improve as he matures but I do see it in his personality quite a bit.
And unfortunately LeBron's back to the basket game did finally become more effective, even if unattractive as hell. It was a new weapon for him in this year's finals, seemed to me. Seemed like in the half court 75% of his game was getting over on the left side ( for some reason) of the key in a drive to the rack, or to set up with his back to the basket or to wind up shooting a J. Only took him 10 years to semi-get the hang of it.
I'm not remotely comparing Randle to LeBron today in terms of effectiveness. Made it clear in my original post: only in the way he tackles the defense. Literally. He has good vision, not great. He's not nearly the defender. Etc. Etc. Etc. But when he gets going to to the rim, he's ridiculously effective. He's ridiculously tough to guard. That's 95% of the way he relates to LeBron. I just don't know that there's a great analog for him that's playing today.
Randle does play like the second phase of Lebron's career. The problem is he will never be half as productive as Lebron in that method of game. Lebron started with playmaking fundamentals who game him handles that Randle will never have. So Lebron's domination comes from attacking with strength forch, handles and the abilty to take a jumpshot - the sum of it is what the defenders need to watch. So while I do like this kind of power Randle have, it's should be his "joker play" in one on one isolations and not his main move. Should develop post plays and midrange shot as automatic as it can be.
I know @trodgers hasn't done one for D'Angelo yet, but Drew Garrison over at SB Nation brought up a player he should try to emulate a bit in pick and rolls: Mark Price. It's sometimes easy to forget how talented that guy was with limited athleticism but a great outside shot and great passing ability. Heck we could have Russell-> Nance Jr. just like Price -> Nance Sr. Russell has the kind of talent to be Mark Price with improved defense and rebounding. Price's best statistical season was probably 89/90 when he averaged 19.6 points, 9.1 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 steals. I don't know that Russell ever gets there because hopefully he's not handling the ball as much as Price was. I think Russell has the kind of talent to average those numbers, I just don't know that he will if we've got Jordan and Randle and hopefully even another great player too. Still, just thought it was an interesting name to bring up with D'Angelo.
Nice comparison. It's hard for me to gauge Russell at this point. He has the tools now to be a floor general. The big question is, how much is he going to improve his individual game? How much is he going to work on being a better athlete? Those things will be the difference between him being a solid starting PG and a star.
I likened Clarkson to a young pre-Sacramento Doug Christie but he could be just like Ron Harper who had a balanced game. Russell and Price? Price was a dead-eye shooter from anywhere on the floor and just about automatic at the stripe. Good passer with high ball IQ. He was Nash before there was a Nash. Russell has the same handles, innate floor vision just as smooth. He likely won't have their outside shooting accuracy but could end up being a better defender. Hard to think back who he can be compared to. There isn't anyone like him. I still stand by the Jalen Rose similarities except the rookie is a better point man.
I thought Price was more Chris Paul before there was a Chris Paul, but it's essentially a similar idea: not the greatest athletes that are just so skilled and precise that they're still able to terrific. We've been told Russell is a shooter, but I haven't quite seen it yet. He's definitely got a smooth stroke, but he's only 19 and will need a bit to get used to the NBA three. I see signs of really good shooting though. I don't know about Price or Nash shooting, but definitely good shooting... We'll see what happens. I just thought Price was an interesting name to bring up.
