Los Angeles Lakers: 5 reasons to re-sign Julius Randle this offseason

5. He is coming off of his best season as a pro

Before this season, there were whispers around Randle being considered somewhat of a bust because he had not developed into the star that scouts saw in his one season at Kentucky.

He put up career numbers

However, this past season he shut those claims up by posting the best numbers of his career in almost every statistical category. Most importantly, Randle became a more efficient player overall during this season. His field goal percentage was 6 percent better than his career average, and his PER was 19.9 compared to his career average of 16.6.

He basically had a redshirt season after missing his entire rookie year due to injury, and in his other two seasons as a pro, he averaged only 12.2 points per game. In his fourth season, he had a breakthrough, and averaged 16.1 points per game and often looked like the Lakers best player on the court.

He had big games that showed a glimpse of his ceiling

That was never more true than when Randle had his career-high 36 points in an upset win over the Cleveland Cavaliers where his full range of talents was on display. Not only was he scoring the ball, he also dominated the glass with 14 rebounds and showed his passing skills with 7 assists.

Randle also had a triple-double this season for just the second time in his career. Against his hometown Dallas Mavericks (a team probably looking at him this off-season) he put up 18 points, 10 assists, and 13 rebounds to lead the Lakers to the victory.

Those two games showed a glimpse into how good he can be as a professional, in the game against Cleveland it came facing one of the league’s better teams. If he could put up numbers like those on a consistent basis, then he would be on his way to becoming one of the best big men in the game.