With two full years of NBA experience under his belt, this upcoming season could be a defining year for Julius Randle.
In his first season under Luke Walton there was certainly aspects of Randle’s game to like and he has taken this offseason to work on some areas he can improve. A couple of those areas are three-point shooting and conditioning.
Randle has been turning heads with his new body and it appears that being in unreal shape is a high priority for the forward.
In Luke Walton’s appearance on the Lowe Post with Zach Lowe of ESPN, the Lakers head coach offered his thoughts on Randle’s workout program:
He’s shredded right now. He’s been working out two to three times a day. His three-point shot looks much better. The way he’s flying up and down the court. We were doing one-on-one drills the other day, and guards couldn’t even get shots off because he’s just moving that much quicker.
And he was already one of the quickest players in the league before he put on this new training. I envision with the way we play, with the way we’re going to be playing next year and guys flying down the wings and Lonzo looking up to throw ahead, and any time you can beat your man, I envision him just outrunning people all day. Getting rebounds, flying up himself, playmaking.
Being in shape and adding quickness to his step will be crucial as he gets ready to play in transition alongside Lonzo Ball.
As for the half court game, adding a consistent three point shot has been an area of focus for Randle since entering the league. Luke Walton touched on this as well sharing some optimism and faith in Randle:
I’m probably not the right guy to ask. I’m very optimistic about everything in life. Am I optimistic that he’s going to be really good? Yes, I am. He’s in the gym, he’s committed himself.
Walton had lofty praise and confidence in Randle, so much so that he has been showing him film of Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green as someone he can emulate on the court:
Oh yeah. [That’s the comparison everybody wants to make] We’ve sat down and watched a lot of Draymond film together, and Julius and Draymond have even spoke on the phone a few times. Draymond is a fan of his too. He thinks he’s going to be a really good player, and so they’ve talked on the phone. And we sit down and watch film, as far as what his reads are, when he’s coming off, he’s into it. He wants to get better, he wants to learn. I’m hoping that it is going to be a big year for him.
As the season inches closer and with a roster full of young contributors, the Lakers will lean on Randle to make another jump in his game this upcoming season.
