Will Julius Randle Head Back to LA?
After one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to redeem themselves this fall. With LeBron James entering his final years and Anthony Davis hoping to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2021-022 campaign, the Purple and Gold are hoping to reclaim their status as championship contenders. And they’re doing it by trying to build a better supporting cast around LeBron and AD.
The problem: The Lakers haven’t gained much traction during the 2022 offseason due to their inability to trade Russell Westbrook, whose disastrous season in LA, has drawn the ire of many Lakers fans.
Initially, Russell Westbrook could have been the centrepiece of a trade that would have reunited Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets with LeBron James. However, the Nets’ asking price was too much and the Lakers aren’t keen to give up more assets. The result: the talks have stalled for now.
With training camp fast approaching and Westbrook still in Los Angeles, time is running out for the Lakers to give LeBron James the third star he didn’t get in the former OKC star.
The Julius Randle Route
While it looks like the Lakers’ options are limited with few assets that have drawn interest from other teams, LA could still make a move to get a star player they last had during the 2017-2018 season: Julius Randle of the New York Knicks.
After being chosen with the seventh pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Randle spent his first four NBA seasons with the Lakers. By his final campaign, he was averaging 16.1 points, eight rebounds, 2.6 assists, while shooting 55.8% from the field.
He then spent one season with the New Orleans Pelicans before signing a three-year deal in New York. In August 2021, the 27-year-old power forward out of Kentucky signed a four-year extension.
Fast forward to this year and suddenly the Knicks appeared to be in the running to acquire Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz. However, talks between the Knicks and the Jazz faltered as the Jazz wanted more in exchange for Mitchell.
Should the Knicks acquire Mitchell, NBA Insider Marc Stein told a Spotify podcast that the Lakers are likely to pursue Randle. In fact, Stein added that the Lakers wouldn’t mind taking care of the rest of Randle’s ongoing four-year deal with the Knicks.
There is one problem if the Lakers were to acquire Randle again: He isn’t the ideal third star the Lakers need next to LeBron and Davis. He’s neither an effective shooter from the three-point line nor a good off-ball player.
Another question in a potential deal is this: if the Lakers didn’t want to take on Joe Harris and his hefty contract as part of the Kyrie Irving proposal, why are they willing to take on another player who would be paid 20 million dollars a season despite being an awkward fit with the Lakers?
When you put their numbers side by side, and given the existing pieces on LA’s roster it’s fairly obvious which would benefit the Lakers more.
Joe Harris shot 46.6% from the three-point line last season plus the Lakers would get Irving. Meanwhile, Randle only shot 30.8% from the same area. And yet, the Lakers seem to prefer the latter at the moment.
Perhaps it’s simply a case of the devil you know vs. the devil you don’t. Either way, the Lakers are far from done this offseason and will likely continue to generate headlines as the summer draws to a close.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.