Lakers Rumors: Julius Randle may never get traded – here’s why

Trading Julius Randle has been one of the most present and controversial topics in the latest Lakers rumors. However, the forward will never be dealt.

Despite being in the midst of a tampering investigation regarding Paul George, the Los Angeles Lakers likely are still planning for the future. With a solid young core, the latest Lakers rumors entail that the team is looking to bring in superstars, thus prompting the team to clear salary space. The first move was to trade D’Angelo Russell. Now, it may be Julius Randle’s turn.

Randle seems like the most logical trade chip to part ways with. His youth alone adds value to his skill set, however, the Lakers can easily replace him. Kyle Kuzma seems to be in the making of being a very good NBA player, and if that pans out, we very well could see the Lakers pull the trigger on Randle.

Even if they dealt him, the team would have both Kuzma and prolific dunker Larry Nance Jr to play the four. With that in mind, it seems to be a simple decision to deal Randle. With his youth and talent, it could be a breeze.

Except, it may not be that easy.

Trading Julius Randle has been constant in the Lakers rumors because of one man, Luol Deng. There is, without a doubt, a strong desire from the Lakers to part ways with Deng and the $54 million owed to him the next three years. This deal hypothetically would mirror the deal with Brooklyn for Russell and Timofey Mozgov.

So, first thing first, the Lakers may need to look for an expiring deal that would make this trade work. There are four possible trades that we can see happening.

Those deals are with the Chicago Bulls for Dwayne Wade, the Milwaukee Bucks for Greg Monroe,  the New Orleans Pelicans for DeMarcus Cousins and the Utah Jazz for Derrick Favors and Joe Johnson.

Now, there are problems with all of these deals. Wade may be bought out, so it wouldn’t make sense to trade for him. The Bucks don’t need Randle with Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo at the two forward spots. Lastly, New Orleans is all-in on this Cousins, Anthony Davis experiment. This leaves the Jazz as the only possible suitors for Randle.

Which brings the next issue at hand, Randle could be owed a lot of money, fairly soon. After this season, Randle will be extended a qualifying over, allowing whichever team to only pay him around five to six million. However, after next season, Randle will be a restricted free agent. Meaning if he blossoms a contender can offer him as much money as they please.

This puts whichever team owns him in a tough spot. If a big contender wants to pay a lot for Randle, the team would have to match that. With the Jazz likely entering rebuild mode after Gordon Hayward’s departure, it would make no sense to match a huge offer for Randle. This makes it not worth it to take on Luol Deng’s contract.

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Thus, this leaves the only possible suitors to be playoff contenders.

However, Randle may not be good enough to even merit a trade. First of all, it will be immensely hard with Deng in the picture. However, more importantly, Randle ranks 26 in player efficiency rating for power forwards, per ESPN.

The only viable title contenders that did not have a power forward with a better rating than Randle’s are the Timberwolves, Celtics and Thunder.

Boston now has Gordon Hayward, Marcus Morris and Jayson Tatum in the fold, so that hole will be filled. Oklahoma City brought in Paul George and Patrick Patterson, so they have no real room for additions.

This leaves one viable team, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the only realistic package the Timberwolves could trade would be their power forward Gorgui Dieng (four-years, $62,800,000) and center Cole Aldrich. As you can see from Dieng’s contract, this simply would not make sense for the Lakers.

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So, despite what the Lakers rumors may be suggesting, trading Julius Randle likely isn’t in the cards. If Los Angeles wants to clear more cap space, they may have to instead part ways with Jordan Clarkson.