Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2024 4:35 am Post subject: Julius Randle says he wanted to follow in Kobe’s footsteps, spend entire career with Lakers
Former Los Angeles Lakers and current New York Knicks forward Julius Randle recently shared that he wanted to spend his entire career with the Lakers upon joining the organization.
He explained that he wanted to be like Lakers legend Kobe Bryant in that regard, who spent all 20 of his NBA seasons with the Purple and Gold.
“I only wanted to play for the Lakers when I got there,” Randle said. “I was like – I wanted that Kobe, 20 years, play for one organization type thing. And I remember my agent lookin’ at me. He was like – I was young and naive – and he lookin’ at me, he like, ‘Bro, I want that for you too, but that s— really just don’t happen much.’
Randle, who was drafted by the Lakers with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, spent the first four seasons of his career in Los Angeles. However, Randle ended up getting pushed out of Los Angeles when LeBron James decided to sign with the team ahead of the 2018-19 season.
Now a star with the Knicks, Randle explained how his free agency unfolded that offseason and how he ended up landing with the New Orleans Pelicans instead of staying in Los Angeles.
“I obviously wanted to be with the Lakers, but it was like – it really didn’t matter,” Randle said. “And then obviously Bron was comin’ and stuff, so it was like, ‘Yeah, get your a– outta here.’ I remember that, but it was also tricky because I was a restricted free agent.”
All we had to do was just give him a second darn year on his contract -_- _________________ How NBA 2K18 failed the All-Time Lakers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxMBYm3wwxk
It was more than that. Management publicly threw shade at his game to the point where fans (including here on LG) viewed him as a non-asset and that likely contributed to lowering his perceived value around the league.
It's an atrocious way to run any organization, no matter in the NBA or elsewhere; one should always be in "Sales" mode while pushing the coaching staff to shore up their weaknesses and have them shine as much as possible
Luke coached him the wrong way, too, so that had a role in tanking his value. Trying to emulate the Warriors without having 2 of the best shooters of all time or the DPOY. _________________ Yi Jianlian Fanboy. Respect The Chair.
Starting anew. I'm retiring my main.
Ball dominant forward who didn't space and wasn't a defensive force. Was never going to fit with Bron. We lost him for nothing which was a waste. But moving on was best for everyone. _________________ Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.
Ball dominant forward who didn't space and wasn't a defensive force. Was never going to fit with Bron. We lost him for nothing which was a waste. But moving on was best for everyone.
It was not best for everyone, that’s a false narrative to try to facilitate the denial and gloss over that it was a serious fckup, which it was. Randle showed he was willing to work in the off season being the only player to meet Magic’s challenge to come back after the summer with the % body fat. Randle was the Lakers leading scorer AND the Lakers leading rebounder that year, played more time at C than PF which C was an area of need for the Lakers at the time and was a RFA at about $5.5m, cheap.
There’s no scenario short of committing a crime that justified rescinding the offer. Artest went into the stands to fight a fan and got suspended many games yet his team was smart enough to hold onto him for a trade instead of just dumping. Some GM’s get it, others don’t, Rob doesn’t. Randle also proved he was consistent working on his game over the summer by adding a 3pt shot to his arsenal. Whether he fit with LeBron or not you keep him on that cheap contract to at least use in a trade. No competemt GM makes the move Rob made with their leading scorer/rebounder on a cheap RFA contract. It was an unthinkable mistake move by a professional failing at basic job activity. _________________ “When it looks as if it is a realistic possibility, I want to focus on winning a ship like it’s a goal that can’t be denied. I didn’t see that this off season.”
Aaron Mintz confirmed the reason why Julius Randle asked us to rescind the qualifying offer.
Dumb move no matter what the scenario was. _________________ “When it looks as if it is a realistic possibility, I want to focus on winning a ship like it’s a goal that can’t be denied. I didn’t see that this off season.”
Man this makes me sad. When the Lakers officially bent over for LeBron and everything that comes with him it was always going to end like it is now. Aging mega star, all the narratives about legacy and the Lakers brand, and zero emphasis put on actual winning. I’m so happy that we got that title. If we didn’t, this would have been oh so bad.
It would be so funny and poetic justice for Randle to end up back with the Lakers if Bron wants to go to NYC. Pushed out twice by Bron. Once out of LA and once back in. Haha.
Joined: 14 Apr 2001 Posts: 144432 Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2024 9:13 am Post subject:
Laker's Fan wrote:
Ball dominant forward who didn't space and wasn't a defensive force. Was never going to fit with Bron. We lost him for nothing which was a waste. But moving on was best for everyone.
No, losing him for nothing wasn’t best for the Lakers. It was sadly pathetic that they got nothing from a lottery pick. Unfortunately it foreshadowed what was to come as the FO has made this common practice. _________________ RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023.
Man this makes me sad. When the Lakers officially bent over for LeBron and everything that comes with him it was always going to end like it is now. Aging mega star, all the narratives about legacy and the Lakers brand, and zero emphasis put on actual winning. I’m so happy that we got that title. If we didn’t, this would have been oh so bad.
It would be so funny and poetic justice for Randle to end up back with the Lakers if Bron wants to go to NYC. Pushed out twice by Bron. Once out of LA and once back in. Haha.
Me too! Sad
I expected what has occurred in 5 of the 6 seasons with LBJ, the 1 ship was a shocker.
1st - poor roster moves + LBJ season ending injury = no post season.
2nd - overpay for AD (feedback from the league) yet Ship! Surprise yes!
3rd - injury riddled season, injury post season = 1st rd exit.
4th - injury riddle season + poor roster construction = no post season.
5th - poor roster construction + late trade of WB & late add of a C = exit.
6th - TBD, yet poor roster construction + no trades = currently 9th place.
I don’t blame LBJ tho because he went to 8 straight finals before us while the Lakers were abysmal during that time and LBJ has been great playing about the same with the Lakers as he did before. The common thread is poor roster construction so I blame those responsible for putting together a championship competitive roster. _________________ “When it looks as if it is a realistic possibility, I want to focus on winning a ship like it’s a goal that can’t be denied. I didn’t see that this off season.”
Ball dominant forward who didn't space and wasn't a defensive force. Was never going to fit with Bron. We lost him for nothing which was a waste. But moving on was best for everyone.
No, losing him for nothing wasn’t best for the Lakers. It was sadly pathetic that they got nothing from a lottery pick. Unfortunately it foreshadowed what was to come as the FO has made this common practice.
I agree, at least to an extent. They tried to move him deadline and got offers of a couple 2nds. At the very least his restricted rights were worth more as Bron insurance. They had designs on Davis and cap room the following season and having Randle on a multi year deal could have been an impediment, especially if he struggled next to LeBron. He ended up with a one year deal in NOH, which showed where his market was. They should have moved him earlier but our FO was too busy infighting.
As far as their wasting drafted talent, that's ownership's bottom line interests. They dealt Russell, Clarkson, Zubac and Nance to avoid paying them. Waiving Bryant and letting Caruso walk were cost cutting moves also. At least Ingram, Lonzo, Hart, Wagner and Bobga got you Davis. But that was more LeBron leveraging our assets. _________________ Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.
Ball dominant forward who didn't space and wasn't a defensive force. Was never going to fit with Bron. We lost him for nothing which was a waste. But moving on was best for everyone.
There is no scenario when losing an All-NBA player and getting nothing in return is a positive. At the very least they should have resigned him and then looked to move him. He averaged 20/10 in the second half of the last year here. Averaged 21/9 the next season. It was a huge blunder.
Even if you don't think there is any way he and Lebron could have fit, you want to keep the asset. Especially if you can lock him up on a below market value contract.
Last edited by J.C. Smith on Sun Mar 24, 2024 10:59 am; edited 1 time in total
Man this makes me sad. When the Lakers officially bent over for LeBron and everything that comes with him it was always going to end like it is now. Aging mega star, all the narratives about legacy and the Lakers brand, and zero emphasis put on actual winning. I’m so happy that we got that title. If we didn’t, this would have been oh so bad.
It would be so funny and poetic justice for Randle to end up back with the Lakers if Bron wants to go to NYC. Pushed out twice by Bron. Once out of LA and once back in. Haha.
It's only going to get worse from here. They'll pay him the 100 mil and then give him a retirement tour he doesn't even deserve. We could deal with the KFT because it was warranted, and he earned every second of it. This will be a charade and joke in comparison. Rob, Jeanie and all the Klutch sellouts in the organization will make us yearn for the MozDeng days. _________________ Yi Jianlian Fanboy. Respect The Chair.
Starting anew. I'm retiring my main.
Ball dominant forward who didn't space and wasn't a defensive force. Was never going to fit with Bron. We lost him for nothing which was a waste. But moving on was best for everyone.
There is no scenario when losing an All-NBA player and getting nothing in return is a positive. At the very least they should have resigned him and then looked to move him. He averaged 20/10 in the second half of the last year here. Averaged 21/9 the next season. It was a huge blunder.
Even if you don't think there is any way he and Lebron could have fit, you want to keep the asset. Especially if you can lock him up on a below market value contract.
Market value is fluid. Jules only got a one year deal in New Orleans. They were fine letting him go after that. He wasn't an all-NBA player at that point. Don't get me wrong, I think they should have kept him but the context was a reset around LeBron that wasn't going to include Randle. Klutch wanted tue space to build the roster. _________________ Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.
Ball dominant forward who didn't space and wasn't a defensive force. Was never going to fit with Bron. We lost him for nothing which was a waste. But moving on was best for everyone.
There is no scenario when losing an All-NBA player and getting nothing in return is a positive. At the very least they should have resigned him and then looked to move him. He averaged 20/10 in the second half of the last year here. Averaged 21/9 the next season. It was a huge blunder.
Even if you don't think there is any way he and Lebron could have fit, you want to keep the asset. Especially if you can lock him up on a below market value contract.
Market value is fluid. Jules only got a one year deal in New Orleans. They were fine letting him go after that. He wasn't an all-NBA player at that point. Don't get me wrong, I think they should have kept him but the context was a reset around LeBron that wasn't going to include Randle. Klutch wanted tue space to build the roster.
Julius Randle is a coach killer and not a piece on a championship team.
He wasn't bringing back anything in trade and, in reality, even at 19/9/4, he's not an impact player.
No shame in that - only about 12-15% of the league are impact players. Everyone else are just glorified role players. If they get the right team/right role they'll look more valuable than they are. Wrong team/wrong role, they'll look like major mistakes. _________________ On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 35750 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2024 4:27 pm Post subject:
I always wonder… If we had developed Randle properly, could we have included him in the AD deal instead of Ingram? _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
I always wonder… If we had developed Randle properly, could we have included him in the AD deal instead of Ingram?
If the Lakers had kept Randle, yes there's a chance he'd have been moved for AD and we'd have kept additional assets that we wound up getting rid of. Which could have meant keeping Lonzo, or Ingram and/or our pick(which if we were drafting for US would have been Darius Garland) or some of the other picks we wound up trading. So whether he stayed or was moved for AD, we'd still have been left with more than we did by not having him here.
CamReddish wrote:
Lol. He isn't Kobe. Thinks very highly if himself, but Lakers made the right decision.
I'm just gonna post what J.C. said as a response to this kind of thinking.
J.C. Smith wrote:
There is no scenario when losing an All-NBA player and getting nothing in return is a positive. At the very least they should have resigned him and then looked to move him. He averaged 20/10 in the second half of the last year here. Averaged 21/9 the next season. It was a huge blunder.
Even if you don't think there is any way he and Lebron could have fit, you want to keep the asset. Especially if you can lock him up on a below market value contract.
this
CandyCanes wrote:
I always wonder… If we had developed Randle properly, could we have included him in the AD deal instead of Ingram?
I honestly think if we kept Randle, we could have made a run that 2018-2019 season. A lot of the problems that occurred happened because we lost Lebron in December, Lonzo in January, and Ingram in March.
Randle lightens the load for everyone and maybe some of those injuries never happen, who knows. I just know it would have been a lot less load to carry for everyone if Randle was still there starting and Kuzma was coming off the bench as 6th man with KCP.
Starters:
Lonzo
Ingram
LeBron
Randle
McGee
Bench:
Rondo
Hart
KCP
Kuzma
Zubac
That's a team deep enough to make a run if Lonzo, Ingram, LeBron don't get hurt, and even if it didn't win a chip, it would have been a better run, and upped everyone else's value far more, which would have come in handy when making the move for AD in the off-season. _________________ How NBA 2K18 failed the All-Time Lakers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxMBYm3wwxk
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 35750 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2024 8:26 pm Post subject:
^
Or maybe we potentially could have gotten AD a year earlier and made a run in 2019. Let’s say we drafted Tatum over Ball and kept Randle. Could we have done Randle, Ingram, Zubac, and picks for AD? And then made a run with LeBron, AD, Tatum. _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
Joined: 14 Apr 2001 Posts: 144432 Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2024 7:27 am Post subject:
CandyCanes wrote:
^
Or maybe we potentially could have gotten AD a year earlier and made a run in 2019. Let’s say we drafted Tatum over Ball and kept Randle. Could we have done Randle, Ingram, Zubac, and picks for AD? And then made a run with LeBron, AD, Tatum.
No, if you remember there was no way the Pelicans would trade AD a year earlier. _________________ RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023.
Randle said same thing when Zion was coming to pels, he out
Nothing wrong not wanting to be a back up _________________ “The main goal for the Lakers is to win a championship. All I care about, all we care about, is to raise another banner in the rafters.“
Last edited by governator on Mon Mar 25, 2024 12:51 pm; edited 1 time in total
Lol. He isn't Kobe. Thinks very highly if himself, but Lakers made the right decision.
Right, giving up a lottery pick for nothing is the right decision. That you Pelinka?
Bad take.
The Lakers tried to trade Randle before the deadline - there were no offers that didn't include receiving a bad contract. As an RFA, he couldn't be traded that summer.
Not every player is a tradable asset. In the NBA especially, signing unwanted players in the hopes that you can move their deals later is a poor strategy that often forces teams to eat contracts or expend assets to get rid of the contract.
Not to mention, Randle wanted out. Teams weren't giving him offers because the figured Lakers would match and try to move him at the deadline. Lakers would've signed/matched a player that didn't want to be here and then would need him to agree to a deal or he'd have walked, anyway. _________________ On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".
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