The Roster and Randle 07/13/14

Before we get to the fun of discussing the potential of the Lakers' #7 draft pick, Julius Randle, let's go over the current roster and see what we have.

As of today:

Point Guards
Steve Nash, Jeremy Lin, Kendall Marshall

Shooting Guards
Kobe Bryant, Jordan Clarkson

Small Forwards
Nick Young

Power Forwards
Julius Randle, Ryan Kelly

Centers
Jordan Hill, Robert Sacre,

Obviously this is far from a championship roster.  In fact it's far from a complete roster with only 10 players.  Nevertheless the biggest holes I see are:

Interior size, Shot blocking/rim protection, Perimeter defense

This team will struggle to stop people from scoring.  The Lakers need an athletic wing player or two who put effort into defense.  They also need a center who can do the same thing.  Javale McGee might not be a bad option for the center position is the Lakers can trade Nash for him (it would depend on how desperate the Nuggets are to get rid of him).  He has had maturity issues on the court in the past so the Lakers would need to take a gamble that he could fix those.

The strengths of this team would definitely be on the offensive end.  Here are my top 3:

Shot creating, potential for good shooting, potential for good rebounding.

Notice that 2 of the top 3 are labeled as "potential".  That lies a lot on what type of system the Lakers run and if Nash is actually able to contribute at all.

JULIUS RANDLE (#30)
6'9" PF 250lbs

All year long I wanted the Lakers to get the Aussie Dante Exum with their #7 pick.  He was selected by Utah at #5.  But when it was announced that we were picking Julius Randle I wasn't really disappointed.  After watching his post draft interview and his introductory press conference I was flat out excited!  I do like his game, but perhaps most of all I have been impressed by his upbringing, his maturity, and his old school attitude.  One of his first comments after being drafted was that he was going to" Make other teams pay for not picking him."  When another reporter asked him if he wanted to play with LeBron James, Randle responded by saying he'd rather play against him because he's a competitor.  Does that sound familiar at all?  It should because Randle's favorite player growing up was none other than Kobe Bryant.  As a freshman, Randle led Kentucky to the national championship game.  They lost a close one, but Randle was impressive throughout the tournament.

Here are Randle's strengths as a player:

Motor (hustle and energy)
Quickness and speed for size
Strength
Agility
Touch around the basket
Competitive drive
Post moves/footwork/face up game
Ball handling

Here are things he needs to work on:

Defensive effort/intelligence
Consistency with jumper (has a nice stroke)
Conditioning

Below is a nice welcome video that shows some of his standout plays from college.  However the system he played in was a little restrictive for his game so his high school highlights may actually be more relevant to the NBA.

Welcome home Julius!!

The Lakers also drafted guard Jordan Clarkson with a 2nd round pick that they bought from Washington.  He has impressed so far in Summer League.  If he makes the team I will have a write up on him as well.

Go Lakers!!!