Why Julius Randle was the best selection:
Julius Randle may have gotten injured in the first game of his career and missed his entire rookie season but he was still an excellent selection for the Los Angeles Lakers with the seventh overall pick. It may have taken some time for Laker fans to realize this, but Randle became a very productive player for the Lakers and still is in the league to this day.
Randle started his career off at a modest rate, averaging a combined 12.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game — pretty solid numbers for a young forward. He was playing even better in the 2017-2018 season and something flipped after the All-Star Break as Randle started becoming a nightly 20-10 threat.
He has continued to be just that the last two seasons, averaging 20.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game the last two seasons. He may no longer be on the Lakers, and the team may not have gotten trade value out of him, but he was putting up much better numbers than any other pick was.
Nobody who was selected closely after Randle in the 2014 NBA Draft comes close to what he has produced in the league, with Zach LaVine and Gary Harris coming the closest. There are two late-pick sleepers who have blossomed in Clint Capela and Nikola Jokic, but you cannot blame the Lakers on that one.
Neither of those prospects was considered lottery-worthy and it would have been a massive reach to select them. They were a diamond in the rough and in terms of lottery-talent in 2014, Randle was probably the best value selection.