In the least surprising news of the offseason, it appears as though the Los Angeles Lakers will not be giving an extension to Julius Randle ahead of Monday’s deadline.
As expected no extension expected w/ Lakers & Julius Randle today. Team had cordial conversations but everyone understands cap space issue
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) October 16, 2017
Randle, who is entering his fourth year in the NBA, was eligible to receive an extension this summer. However, given that the Lakers are looking to maximize cap space summer. Randle’s relatively low cap hold in 2018 makes it more valuable for the Lakers to wait until he hits restricted free agency to decide whether they want to keep him on the team for the foreseeable future.
Nevertheless, it’s encouraging that the team has had discussions with Randle about the reasoning behind not extending him now. Perhaps, that’s a sign that they are optimistic he will be part of the team after this year or perhaps it’s just a way of keeping his agent happy.
Randle was injured in the Lakers’ final preseason game against the LA Clippers but he is expected to make a recovery soon.
Now, the power forward will have the pressure of performing within his contract year to prove to the Lakers that they must keep him even while pursuing bigger fish like LeBron James and Paul George.
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