Lakers: Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell Officially on USA Select Team
By Alex Vejar
Lakers youngsters D’Angelo Russel and Julius Randl will get a fantastic opportunity as they’ve officially been named to the USA Select Team
Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell and forward Julius Randle showed signs last season that they have what it takes to be high caliber NBA players. At times, they gave Lakers fans hope because of some of the numbers the were able to put up—especially Russell when he had that 39-point outburst against the Brooklyn Nets in March.
Now the potential cornerstones of the Lakers franchise have the opportunity to vastly improve their games in a short amount of time. Russell and Randle were chosen for the USA Basketball Select Team, the Lakers announced today.
The Select Team consists of 25 players and will train with the USA Basketball team July 18-21 during their training camp in Las Vegas ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
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Russell and Randle were reportedly invited to join the Select Team in May and we weren’t given any reason to doubt such reports. However, the Lakers’ announcement makes it official.
This type of experience should work wonders for the young Randle and Russell, especially with Gregg Popovich slated to work with the Select Team, according to ABC.
While superstar players like Stephen Curry and LaMarcus Aldridge have already decided they will not participate in the Rio Olympics due to injuries, Randle and Russell could have the opportunity to work with a host of other current NBA greats such as Kevin Durant, LeBron James, James Harden, Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler and a host of others.
Next: Advanced Stats Say Russell Due for Huge Sophomore Season
Lakers fans should be shouting from the rooftops about this official announcement. It proves that both Russell and Randle are committed to being better basketball players and that will certainly translate when the Lakers start the 2016-17 regular season in late October.