Julius Randle Discussion: Beast, Ox, Monster, Lotus Flower

I think Draymond has become kind of the go-to name for the "versatile" guy on a team, but their games are not very similar at all. I keep coming back to a Worthy/Larry Johnson comparison. Able to post up, run the floor, handle the ball, and has surprisingly good vision. I mean Draymond has very little of that. In fact Draymond makes a ton of mistakes with the ball as a passer/pass receiver. He makes up for them with heart and hustle plays, but that's not Randle.

Either way I see a special kind of player in Julius. He may not be THE star to lead us to the promise land, but he DEFINITELY looks like a piece that can help get us there.

 

^^ I think the Larry Johnson comparison is spot-on.

 

I think he's got a little better handle/vision than Larry but it's there. I don't know who mentioned it first, but they nailed it.

 

Maybe it's the left hand, but more likely it's the ability Randle has for putting the ball on the floor and leading a break that reminds me more of Odom. I can see the Larry Johnson in him, too, though.

 

Yeah and I think they'll have similar productions in totally different ways. Lamar was long and lanky and able to get to the rim with those long arms. Julius is just a straight up bully and I think he's just meaner and more aggressive than Lamar. That's another part where the Larry Johnson comes out in him.

 

Agreed on the aggressiveness. Remember when Randle had his way with Draymond Green in the pre-season game (although hard to remember that far back!).

 

Oh I've watched that footage probably once a week since it happened (better than watching the games last year, oi!). His aggressiveness was at times Kobe-esque last summer. Hopefully as he continues growing, he'll pass the ball even more. Sometimes he got tunnel vision out there he was so aggressive.

 

Not bragging, but it was me.

 

Swooooooooooooooooooooooooooon

 

Every time I hear about Randle I get a little fired up. Love that tweet.

Also @Lakerman JSJ swooning.

 

Yeah we're having this discussion in another thread, but I'll move it here because it's more appropriate. Dude! You're the only one off the Randle-Wagon. I think it's time to hop on.

1. Pre-season numbers- Inconsistent because he was a rookie but the last two games he looked like he figured out a lot of stuff. He had nearly a double-double in both games against Portland and Sacramento. He had 17/8 against Portland and 12/9 against Sacramento going 13/22 from the field. Before that he struggled a bit against Golden State and Utah (who each have bigs that defend the rim well), but he showed constant growth as the pre-season went on.

2. He came in out of shape because of his foot injury which was well documented. He wasn't able to workout for a long time after the tournament. All accounts from the Lakers have him losing a lot of weight, eating a healthy diet, and preparing nonstop for this next season.

3. What veteran PGs are there that fit your description, are readily attainable, and make sense with Randle's 3.1 million dollar salary? I can't think of a single PG worth 3.1 million that approximates Randle's value. Not to mention there's plenty of FA point guards that we could get for cheap that could fill in behind or in front of Clarkson and I can't think of many forwards we could get that have Randle's unique skill set. I can't think of any in fact. Here's some FA guards we could get while keeping Randle AND signing Aldridge: Aaron Brooks, Will Bynum, CJ Watson, Kendall Marshall, maybe even Rondo if he settles for low money and a decent role.

What Forwards have Randle's size, speed, strength, ball handling ability, and are capable of averaging 15/7 that we can get for around 3 million dollars?

 

Take THAT my hopes and dreams!