To begin the 2017-18 NBA season, Julius Randle initially came off the bench and it appeared his time with the Los Angeles Lakers was going to end via the trade deadline or free agency. However, the 23-year-old used it as motivation and had the best season of his young career, averaging 16.1 points and 8.0 rebounds.
Throughout the season, it was no secret President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka took major steps to clear cap space for two max contract players in LeBron James and Paul George. While there is still a chance Randle ultimately re-signs, he is unsure what exactly will happen according to Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet:
Julius Randle, a little deeper on soon becoming a restricted free agent:
“Who knows what’s gonna happen? I’ve never done this before. I don’t know how it’s going to go,” he said.
He said he was excited, not anxious, and even managed a quick laugh while talking about it.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) April 12, 2018
Following a career season, Randle received high praise from the Lakers and his opponents. However, there are only a few teams in the league that will have cap space like the Dallas Mavericks to pursue him. Since the forward is a restricted free agent, Los Angeles will have an opportunity to match any offers.
After a successful season, it is good to have options for the Lakers. With a young and competitive core in place, Johnson and Pelinka can continue the path of building through the draft or accelerate the process through free agency over the next two years. Regardless of what happens, it will be interesting to see what the next step is for the storied franchise under the Johnson-Pelinka front office, who have made solid moves thus far.
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