Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors will disappoint some fans, as the team reportedly never offered Julius Randle a contract during free agency.
Los Angeles Lakers rumors involving free agent plans are going to begin popping up through the grapevine. Los Angeles is looking to strike gold once again in free agency, hoping to pair a second max contract player with LeBron James.
Last year, the Lakers landed the crown jewel of free agency by signing James to a four-year max contract, the fourth year of which is a player option. After signing James, the team’s free agent plan was questionable, at best.
Following the addition of James, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka re-signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. They dipped back into free agency, as they signed JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson, Rajon Rondo and Michael Beasley. They were head-scratching moves, considering it cost the team Brook Lopez and Julius Randle.
In hindsight, both Lopez and Randle could have been retained quite easily. Lopez ended up signing a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks for just under $3.4 million. Lopez expressed a desire to remain with the Lakers, but it did not end up happening.
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We were surprised they didn’t want to re-sign you also, Brook. Moving on from Randle was even more surprising.
Randle had a career season in 2017-18 despite the Lakers not providing him a consistent role until after Christmas when he moved into the starting lineup.
Randle was thriving as the starting power forward, averaging 18.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He was beginning to show signs of why the Lakers selected him with the No. 7 overall pick in 2014.
However, he ended up not being back. The Lakers renounced his rights, making him an unrestricted free agent. He ended up signing with the New Orleans Pelicans for $18 million over two years, the second year of which is a player option.
Fans were disappointed, but it sounds like this is something the team planned for. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers never even gave an offer to Randle.
"Even though the Lakers controlled Randle’s rights as a restricted free agent, L.A. never made an offer to him, sources told ESPN."
There is a lot that makes this decision a poor one by Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka. For starters, Luke Walton and the coaching staff reportedly urged the front office to re-sign Randle. In addition, they signed Rondo and Caldwell-Pope to a combined $21 million. They could have signed Randle and Lopez and still had over $8 million left to work with.
Last year’s free agency started off great with James but ended up being a missed opportunity for Johnson and Pelinka. They will look to change their fortunes this summer, but if they negotiate the same way they did with Randle, it could be another long summer in Los Angeles.