Much of the focus on the Los Angeles Lakers’ upcoming offseason has been on the big name free agents. But there will be several good options on the next tier down, and a former Laker is one of them.
The first time the Los Angeles Lakers missed the playoffs during their current streak of infamy, they gained the seventh pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and used it to select a power forward from Kentucky named Julius Randle.
He had unique skills for a man who stood 6-foot-9 and weighed about 250 lbs, but some were concerned about his relatively short wingspan and lack of elite hops.
Although it took him a little while to develop, last season he blossomed and gave the Lakers 16.1 points and eight rebounds per game while shooting 55.8 percent from the field. Starting on New Year’s Day that season, he posted averages of 18.3 points and nine rebounds per game.
Unfortunately, just after signing LeBron James, the Lakers let Randle leave as a free agent. This season, as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, he averaged 21.4 points and 8.7 rebounds a game. He also expanded his game a bit, shooting 34.4 percent from 3-point range compared to just 22.2 percent the previous season.
Those are pretty much All-Star caliber numbers.
While we’re all hoping the Lakers sign a big name free agent like Kyrie Irving or Kawhi Leonard, they need to have several options they’ll look into who is on the next tier down.
Randle would be a good one of those players to target for several reasons.