Julius Randle’s Future ‘Unlikely’ To Involve Lakers

It’s very unlikely that Julius Randle‘s future will come with the Lakers, Adrian Wojnarowki of ESPN says (via RealGM). Los Angeles, of course, is positioning itself to sign multiple max free agents in the summer of 2018, just when Randle will be hitting restricted free agency.

For now, Lakers’ execs Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson will need to determine whether the franchise would be better off shipping Randle out of town prior to the February trade deadline or potentially rolling the dice when he’s a restricted free agent next summer.

Randle’s cap hit will be worth $12.4MM in the offseason, a significant chunk for a team looking to potentially sign the likes of LeBron James and/or Paul George.

Lost in all of the anticipation about 2018, however, is an impressively efficient 23-year-old in the best condition of his NBA career. In less than 20 minutes per game so far this season, Randle has averaged 11.5 points and 6.3 rebounds.

Not surprisingly, the Lakers will likely at least consider moving Randle to a team during the course of the 2017/18 season, with a potential yield of a first-round pick.

It’s not unrealistic to expect another organization around the league, one without major free agency ambitions like L.A., to take a flyer on the 2014 NBA Draft’s seventh-overall pick, a versatile young power forward who’s even spent time at the five so far this season.

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