With training camp approaching for the Los Angeles Lakers, the team is focusing on getting better this offseason. One player that has improved is Julius Randle.
As the Los Angeles Lakers look to break their recent slump of not making the playoffs, they will be relying heavily on their young core. Due to their struggles the past few seasons, the Lakers have been able to add some talent through the early part of the NBA Draft.
With some of those high picks, the Lakers now have a solid core with Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball. As the veteran of the group, Randle is looking to take another step forward this coming season.
Randle’s career certainly didn’t start out how he would have liked. He missed his entire first season because of a leg injury suffered on Opening Night. Since then, he has improved over the past two years.
In his second NBA season, Randle was able to average a double-double with 11.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Last season, Randle did see a drop in his rebounds per game. However, he improved as a passer, as he averaged 3.6 assists per game. For a power forward in the NBA, that is an impressive number for Randle.
As he prepares for his fourth season in the NBA, Randle has spent the offseason getting in the best shape of his life. Also, he is working on extending his range to the 3-point line. In a recent interview with Spectrum Sports, Luke Walton talked about Randle working on expanding his range. Here’s what he said via Trevor Lane of LakersNation.com.
"“He’s shooting them, which is what you do in the offseason; you keep working on your game. They look good too, he’s making a good percentage of them. In this progress of being a young player and getting it going, normally, you start working on something and you make them in practice and struggle a little bit in the game, and then eventually, they start going in in the game. So he’s on the right path.”"
Seeing Randle behind the 3-point line will certainly be a new weapon to his game. In his sophomore season, Randle averaged just 0.4 attempts per game from beyond the arc. Last season, he took a few more, as he averaged 0.9 3-pointers per game.
As the NBA begins to move more toward playing beyond the arc, this could be a valuable weapon for Randle. Even though he is somewhat of a veteran on this team, both Larry Nance Jr. and Kyle Kuzma are players that could challenge him for minutes next season.
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It will be interesting to see the hard work that Randle has put into his 3-point shot this offseason. If it is anything like the transformation we have seen his body go through this offseason, he might be a great shooter from deep.