But how well do you see Cousins and Randle playing together?
Considering that Randle has improved his cutting and that Cousins can stretch his range to the three, I think they would work fine. They are also both Kentucky kids.
I'd imagine Randle fits alongside Cousins similar to how he fits alongside Lopez. Lopez and Randle have averaged +2.6 points in just 2.8 minutes per night in their 8 appearances together this season. That's the highest +/- of any other 2 man lineup with Randle with Ennis (+1.8), Blue (+1.8) and Lonzo (+1.7) being the next best lineups. We haven't seen enough of it, unfortunately.
Like I said, Cousins “could” conceivably complement Randle, if that would in fact be the goal, but I don’t think Randle compliments Cousins at all.
Is the better fit next to Cousins a cutter or a shooter? Is the better fit next to Cousins a selfless guy who submits to Cousins’ dominance or a more selfish guy who is looking to get his.
Cousins would more than likely take away from the Randle we’re seeing right now, and Randle would take away from the Cousins we’re seeing in New Orleans.
For Randle, the presence of Cousins automatically takes away his offensive aggressiveness. No longer would he be the best option down low or the high post. No longer would he be the best big on the floor and on the team most nights, important for his psyche, and a key component of his success this year. If Cousins were on this team this year, even in a contract year, my contention is that you wouldn’t be seeing the same Randle. He’d feel bottled. It’d only take a couple of missed kick out jump shots from Cousins’ drives to make Randle question himself and his role. Randle is still primarily an offensive player who likes to drive with the ball in his hands (just like Cousins), and Cousins’ presence would hurt his natural game.
For Cousins, Randle is very clearly, to me, not his natural foil. Cousins needs a guy who would be comfortable catching and shooting and a guy, more importantly, who understands the pecking order offensively. Randle is a supremely confident offensive player, but almost strictly as a driver with the ball, wheeling and dealing from the high post. This isn’t what Cousins needs to compliment his game. Randle next to Cousins would forget who the 26 point per game/All-NBA scorer is. He won’t submit to Cousins’ dominance. He’ll want to assert his. He won’t be content shooting five kick out jump shots in a game off Cousins’ drives with only one or two isolation drives. That ain’t Randle’s game, and when he can’t play his natural game, his overall play will suffer as a result.
A guy like Nance would fit much more seamlessly. Nance would become whatever Cousins and the team needed him to be. He’s a natural accentuator of top talent whereas Randle is still out to prove that no one can stop him off the dribble.
It’d be a mistake to max out Cousins then pay Randle 15 million a year when he’d never be as good as he is right now with Cousins around — a waste of money.
What are you basing this off of? Randle has never played with a player that caliber down low.
Who's the next best player to sign after LeBron, PG and Boogie make their decisions?
Would it then be Bradley and Randle?
In that hypothetical I go Noel and make an offer to Lavine and hope Chicago doesn't match.
I prefer Randle to Noel these days. And Bradley to Lavine. But I might prefer Lavine's shooting contributions to paying Randle. _________________ Austin Reaves
Tweeter: @sarah_dotbiz
Who's the next best player to sign after LeBron, PG and Boogie make their decisions?
Would it then be Bradley and Randle?
In that hypothetical I go Noel and make an offer to Lavine and hope Chicago doesn't match.
UFAs:
IT
Jordan (if he opts out)
Bradley
Favors
Noel
Lopez
KCP
Reddick
Evans
LouWill
Seth Curry
Ariza
etc.
RFAs:
Gordon
Lavine
Capela
Nurkic
Randle
Hood
Parker
Payton
McDermott
McCaw
Anderson
Exum
etc.
As an aside, Kevon Looney and Seth Curry would be less expensive options I'd like to see the Lakers pursue if they do have to shed both JC and Julius in pursuit of two max free agents.
Randle is playing well. I don't think it is coincidental that his improved play is coming with reduced minutes and against opposing second units.
I'd love for us to find a way to keep him - while adding the 2 max FAs. No way do I see him starting if we got LBJ and Boogie. I don't see JR being productive as a starting center if we got LBJ and PG. But as an impact Sixth Man, I prefer him to Clarkson. _________________ On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".
Joined: 30 Nov 2006 Posts: 33474 Location: Long Beach, California
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 10:45 am Post subject:
Dr. Laker wrote:
I don't think it is coincidental that his improved play is coming with reduced minutes
He played a season high of 32 minutes against Denver and had his best game of the season. Whenever he's received more minutes this season, his play has sustained itself. Correlation does not equal causation. That's just lazy thinking.
Quote:
and against opposing second units.
Considering that most of his minutes typically comes in the 4th quarter as a closer, he's not playing against second units most of the time. Simply because he's not a starter doesn't mean that later in the game he doesn't play against starters. Again, that's lazy thinking and again correlation (i.e. not being a starter means you only play against bench units) does not mean causation (i.e. that coming off the bench is the actual reason for his success).
Most of the time I hear these two points being made only because people, who were anti-Randle, are having trouble disengaging from that mentality in light of his most recent play. They can't accept that he's just good, so try to project onto him reasons why he's not actually good, but just "looks" good. Still, most are coming around on him and its good to see if only because I hope that's a reflection of the Lakers' front office's mentality as well. I think he's more than worth keeping. _________________ LakersGround's Terms of Service
Randle is playing great. It looks like he has put his ego aside and accepted his role coming off the bench. With him being in a contract year it's a win-win for Randle and the Lakers. _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
It's amazing to see that Randle has actually become a decent facsimile of Draymond.
He's made almost a complete 180° in his game from being a purely iso scorer with poor defensive awareness who never set screens as a rookie to an off-ball cutting, screening, defensive dynamo. Byron really did Julius the biggest disservice of all the young guys.
When Randle plays with full energy on both ends he's a force to be reckoned with. The way he was switching onto guards and suffocating them with his defensive pressure was giving me a semi. That Randle deserves a big contract with the Lakers. I hope he keeps it up.
Randle has improved every year he's been in the league. It's been a luxury having him come off the bench and do what he does, on offense and defense. The switching in defense, the rebounding, the dribbling up the court, the passing from the lost and the top of the key, the scoring ability.
I think the FO, who was ready to cut ties with Randle, might have to think twice about it now. He's clearly still improving, and he has that dog in him.
At the very least, you cannot simply let him walk next season to clear cap space. At least get a friggin' asset for him.
Joined: 30 Nov 2006 Posts: 33474 Location: Long Beach, California
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:52 am Post subject:
RCS926 wrote:
It's amazing to see that Randle has actually become a decent facsimile of Draymond.
If you assume their defense is the same (which, at this point, is fair based on advanced stats), then Randle is actually a better version of Draymond because he's better offensively. _________________ LakersGround's Terms of Service
I don't think it is coincidental that his improved play is coming with reduced minutes
He played a season high of 32 minutes against Denver and had his best game of the season. Whenever he's received more minutes this season, his play has sustained itself. Correlation does not equal causation. That's just lazy thinking.
Quote:
and against opposing second units.
Considering that most of his minutes typically comes in the 4th quarter as a closer, he's not playing against second units most of the time. Simply because he's not a starter doesn't mean that later in the game he doesn't play against starters. Again, that's lazy thinking and again correlation (i.e. not being a starter means you only play against bench units) does not mean causation (i.e. that coming off the bench is the actual reason for his success).
Most of the time I hear these two points being made only because people, who were anti-Randle, are having trouble disengaging from that mentality in light of his most recent play. They can't accept that he's just good, so try to project onto him reasons why he's not actually good, but just "looks" good. Still, most are coming around on him and its good to see if only because I hope that's a reflection of the Lakers' front office's mentality as well. I think he's more than worth keeping.
Yeah, he was attacking Robin Lopez and that huge block was against Portis. Portis even had a running start. His on-ball defense was on point, whether against a forward or guard.
He hasn't had many games where he's played more than 25 minutes, but I think he's earned at least that much. I think he can sustain it. _________________ LeBron, AD, & _________. Stay tuned.
"...there was a time when the Israelites were wandering in the desert and all of a sudden, bread came down from heaven,” Pelinka said. “That’s kind of what today feels like for us to have KCP join.”
Is it just me or did his voice get deeper? That would explain the jump this year, my man aged 5 years over the offseason
This interview stuck out to me last night. His demeanor has really improved. This might be something that has nothing to do with on-court production, but stuff like this in LA matters. He used to treat every media question like a trip to the dentist, always looking down at the ground or at the ceiling and starting every sentence with "Um...just uh...." like he couldn't wait to get out of there. Even if he's finding himself as a "role player," interviews like this tell me he's thinking of himself as a leader, and we see that when he's talking on defense and pointing guys to where they should be.
I always thought Randle had a huge body language and, well, regular language problem. The former will still rear its head from time to time, but he's greatly improved in both aspects, and just ask Russell--that stuff matters out here.
Is it just me or did his voice get deeper? That would explain the jump this year, my man aged 5 years over the offseason
This interview stuck out to me last night. His demeanor has really improved. This might be something that has nothing to do with on-court production, but stuff like this in LA matters. He used to treat every media question like a trip to the dentist, always looking down at the ground or at the ceiling and starting every sentence with "Um...just uh...." like he couldn't wait to get out of there. Even if he's finding himself as a "role player," interviews like this tell me he's thinking of himself as a leader, and we see that when he's talking on defense and pointing guys to where they should be.
I always thought Randle had a huge body language and, well, regular language problem. The former will still rear its head from time to time, but he's greatly improved in both aspects, and just ask Russell--that stuff matters out here.
The problem here is that the man has 100 million dollars at stake. If he wasn't playing for a huge contract, I could take the body language without a grain of salt. I agree that he's played better this season... I think he thrives in an energy role more dependent on effort than pure skill... but he doesn't replace an LBJ, Boogie, or PG-13. Maybe he is maturing... but then this maturity would have had to have developed in the last month as opposed to over the course of three years. My worry is what happens after the chip is gone, after he gets paid, when management has no more leverage over his career. Sure you can disregard the past... we would be taking a leap of faith with Boogie as well. But at least with Boogie you are gambling on a far superior player.
Let's say we only get PG-13 and Boogie and LeBron sign elsewhere... do we sign Julius for 5 yrs/100 million? Or do you wait and try for someone like Klay in 2019? I have no problem signing Randle for a Clarkson like price... but I think history tells us that PG-13 and Randle won't be enough.
Randle gets you to the playoffs with one elite FA, but not a championship.
If that's good enough for some of you... I don't know what to say. Maybe over time if Ball, Ingram, Kuzma all develop into all stars, it would be enough. I suppose if management knows for a fact that we have no shot at these guys, then it's worth it to sign Julius because 2019 is a desert other than Klay. But if Klay showed interest I would wait for him, or try to engineer a trade.
It's amazing to see that Randle has actually become a decent facsimile of Draymond.
If you assume their defense is the same (which, at this point, is fair based on advanced stats), then Randle is actually a better version of Draymond because he's better offensively.
I don't think he's playing at Green's level, but he certainly is playing well enough that you'd like to hang on to him and not let him walk. How would you like to see this offseason go? Do you think we should pass on a guy like Cousins to keep Randle? And if we do sign Cousins, then how much would you be willing to pay Randle to be a 6th man? Because Kuzma seems pretty settled in as the starting PF long-term.
Draymond has been pretty average this year. Julius has outplayed him.
Green: +3.89 RPM, +4.2 BPM
Randle: +0.16 RPM, -0.3 BPM
Green is #1 among PF's in RPM. Randle is #29. Green is also having a strong year from three, shooting 35.1%.
I definitely think Randle is playing better than his BPM/RPM indicate. He has had stretches where he indeed played at a higher level than Green. But he has also had some stretches of mediocre play.
Randle is going to get a large contract offer from someone this offseason. Kuzma is our starting PF going forward. Cousins seems like the ideal fit at starting center. Is it a smart move to pay Randle, say, 16 million per year to be the third big? Nance makes like 2 million per year. Guys like Zubac/Bryant make peanuts.
Coming into the season, we all knew that Randle would have to show large strides to stick with the team. He has done that. But it's still a very tricky situation, particularly because of the emergence of Kuzma.
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