Lakers Aim to Completely Revamp Julius Randle’s Jump Shot Come Offseason

This offseason, the Lakers plan to completely change Julius Randle‘s shot mechanics

Word spreads quickly around the NBA. Teams are smart, they aren’t going to let you do what makes you best every single night. Instead, they are going to try and take away, or at least limit, your strengths, while attempting to put your flaws on display.

For Julius Randle, his success comes from his quickness to beat his man off the dribble, strength to bully his way to the rim and will to muscle it up over defenders. His weaknesses, well, at this point, those can be found nearly every where else.

Randle’s ball stopping is criminal, rapidly approaching Kobe-esque levels. More often than not, he halts the flow of the offense, taking a few dribbles backwards before bull rushing his way to the rim.

He doesn’t look up when he should, forcing shots despite being surrounded by wide open teammates. He passes when he shouldn’t, throwing bullets into crowded windows that even D’Angelo Russell wouldn’t have been able to fit them through. He finishes exclusively with his dominant left hand

More from Lake Show Life

• Darvin Ham adds to Max Christie hype train after Lakers preseason opener
• Is LeBron James playing tonight? Latest Lakers vs Warriors update
• Can Darvin Ham put all of the Lakers puzzle pieces together?
• Lakers news: Darvin Ham knows his fifth starter, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino praise
• Michael Malone’s painfully ironic comment has Lakers fans heated

Shockingly, despite his flaws, Randle still has the physical gifts to be a powerful force in this league. Many players get into the league on talent alone and the NBA is where they hone their craft, the same can be expected of Randle.

Similar to the other young Lakers, Julius Randle is a work in progress, but improving his jumpshot will make the game exponentially easier for the second year forward.

Hall-of-Famer, James Worthy agreed, saying that although Randle has many things to work on, developing a midrange jump shot should be his top priorty.

In a recent OC Register piece, Bill Oram revealed that the Lakers plan to completely change Randle’s jumpshot come the offseason.

Their reasoning behind waiting being, if you attempt to do so during the season, you run the risk of destroying a player’s confidence. And the last thing the Lakers want is for Julius Randle to be afraid of shooting the ball from outside of the paint.

Recently hired shooting coach, Tracy Murray, cited “loose form” for the majority of Randle’s problems.

"But coaches say his form is loose. His left elbow juts outward, and Lakers’ first-year shooting coach Tracy Murray laments a hitch in Randle’s form that results in a catapult effect, rather that one smooth motion."

The word “catapult” brings Blake Griffin to mind, who was also referenced in the article. Before being the midrange sniper that he is today, Griffin also had a significant hitch in his shot, which caused his shooting percentages to suffer.

The fact that Griffin was able to revamp his jumper in a few seasons should give Lakers fans hope that drastic improvement is possible.

Oram went on to state that, “Next summer Randle will be asked to unlearn the shot he has always had and start focusing on things as fundamental as forming an ‘L’ with his elbow.”

Players like Tristan Thompson have also undergone shot changes in the offseason, with success, so Randle should be able to do the same.

Next: D'Angelo Russell On If He Watches Film 'Not Really'

Whether Randle will ever get to Karl Malone‘s or Griffin’s level, consistency wise, remains to be seen, but considering all of the hype surround his work ethic, he can never be counted out.