Julius Randle was arguably the Los Angeles Lakers’ best player last year, and he will only be 24 years old at the start of next season. That is why the decision to re-sign him is so important for the franchise moving forward.
Maybe it was his extra motivation being in a contract year, but Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle balled out last year and he deserves every penny coming his way this offseason. He changed from a player searching for an identity into a major leader and contributor on a young ascending team.
He will be a restricted free agent going into this summer, and he should have plenty of teams after him because he played so well. However, the Lakers will also have the option to match any contract that comes his way.
His Laker career has been a giant roller coaster ride filled with highs and lows. Breaking his leg in his first career game was the low point, and his dramatic improvement this season has been his peak. If the Lakers did decide to re-sign him, they would be betting that this past season was no fluke and they believe he is still getting better.
Randle was the first lottery pick the Lakers had since Andrew Bynum in 2005. For that reason, it would be hard to part ways with the first piece of the Lakers great young nucleus.
The biggest reason why it is a difficult decision to bring back Randle is that the Lakers are trying to spend their cap space on two max free agents. There is only so much money to go around, so if they added two big contracts to the roster the path to re-sign him becomes much more difficult.
Signing proven stars would put the Lakers back into title contention, but if they want to extend that championship window then they need to re-sign Randle. Take a look at five other reasons why the Lakers should look into bringing back their budding young star.