Los Angeles Lakers can afford to let Julius Randle walk

Julius Randle is a restricted free agent this summer and it is a tough pill to swallow that he may not be returning to the Los Angeles Lakers.

For the first time in his career, Julius Randle has the power to leave the Los Angeles Lakers and pursue a large contract elsewhere. As bleak as that may seem, the Lakers are prepared.

Well, Randle does not have all the power in this situation. Since he is a restricted free agent, the Lakers have the right to match any offer sheet he accepts. With $61 million in cap space, the Lakers have more than enough room to bring Randle back.

And for the most part, that seemed to be the common consensus. With the Lakers front office reportedly in constant contact with Randle, re-signing the forward seems like a lock.

However, that is not necessarily the case, as Randle’s agent, said that he was unsure if Randle was a priority for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason. Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll did an excellent job of dissecting what this could mean in his piece here.

More from LA Sports Hub

Randle never seemed to be a priority for the Los Angeles Lakers to begin with. The two sides failed to agree to a contract extension earlier in the season. Luke Walton even benched Randle and started Larry Nance Jr. in the beginning of the season. Nance is no longer even on the Lakers.

However, a stellar second half has forced the front office’s hand to reconsider Randle as a potential star in their master plan. Randle averaged 19.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in a hybrid power forward-center role in the second half of the season.

One issue immediately lies with keeping Randle if the Lakers go out and get a superstar: his size. Assuming the Lakers hit the jackpot and get Paul George and LeBron James (which Shaq thinks will happen) the Lakers would have to play Randle at center.

And while he did show a physical presence down low and had decent rebounding numbers, the Lakers would be better suited with size. Despite being good individually, the Lakers’ rebounds, blocks and total points per game went down after the All-Star Break last season.

That is not all to pinpoint on Randle, as the team was hurt, but running a small center does run its risks. When you are a seven-footer like Kevin Durant you can get away with it. When you are six-foot-nine and haven’t even made an all-star team it is a bit harder.

Plus, it was obvious that the Lakers were preparing for a new wave at power forward when the team drafted Kyle Kuzma in the first-round last season. Kuzma emerged to be more than just a depth piece and could be a 20-point per game guy as early as next season.

Kuzma is more than talented to run power forward for the Lakers, replacing Randle. And while he may not be as menacing on the boards, Kuzma can give the Lakers more offensive flexibility than Randle can.

If LeBron and George are on the team Kuzma becomes a perfect sixth man. Then, instead of paying the potential $20+ million another team may offer Randle, the Lakers can go with size and sign a true center instead.

Next: Why LeBron is a better target than Kawhi Leonard

Kyle Kuzma is the perfect solution to losing Julius Randle. And while the Los Angeles Lakers may want to ultimately keep Randle, the team can afford to lose him this summer. It may be for the best anyways.

Home/Los Angeles Lakers