Why Los Angeles Lakers Fans Should Be Salivating Over Julius Randle's Return

One of last year’s brightest draft prospects became an all-but-forgotten man this season—Julius Randle broke his leg on opening night and missed his entire rookie campaign. 

But the No. 7 pick out of Kentucky is still very much present and is on track to return at full strength in the fall during training camp.

Randle has been working out, watching games from the sidelines and, as Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times recently noted, is looking toward summer league for some much-needed prep work.

At 6’9” and 250 pounds, the left-handed power forward offers an intriguing combination of strength and agility. His progress was already evident during the preseason as he sought to combine a bruising inside game with ball-handling open-court moves, including a memorable coast-to-coast romp against the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 22.

Randle had 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench that night, providing a scintillating preview of the bright future ahead. 

But all that came crashing to earth one week later during the season opener against the Houston Rockets. The promising lottery pick was still a month shy of his 20th birthday.

Randle recently put it into his own words in an article written for The Cauldron:

"

13 minutes and 34 seconds. That’s how long it took for the entirety of my first season in the NBA to come to a crashing halt. Fractured tibia, they told me. I would need surgery, and I was done for the year. It happened on a routine play. I drove toward the basket like I had done thousands of times before, only this time, when I planted my right leg to go up for the score, I heard a pop.

There was no pain. There was just that pop, and the immediate realization that there was no point in even trying to stand up.

"

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Surgery, rehabilitation and unimaginable frustration would await him. And while mending from his broken leg, Randle also went ahead with foot surgery in January to replace a screw in his right foot, dating back to an injury sustained in high school. That issue had prompted some concerns prior to the draft.

With ample time on his hands, the rookie embarked on a different kind of learning process—if he couldn’t actually be on the floor, at least he could study the game. In fact, the front office put the kid to work in an observer’s capacity.

As Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding wrote:

"

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak set about ensuring Randle, 20, was engaged mentally by assigning the rookie to write up reports about Lakers games. Randle would break down the game quarter by quarter, detailing what the Lakers did right or wrong, dissecting the opponent's game plan and focusing especially on matchups at Randle's power forward position.

"

“I've watched a lot of basketball, but never this much NBA basketball,” Randle told Ding. “You see the pace of play, the flow of the game. Put yourself in positions that you can be in the game. It helps you mentally be prepared to know what to do when you are out there.”

Randle has also put in grueling hours in the weight room, and by the beginning of March he was finally “cleared to participate in full weight-bearing, non-contact basketball activities,” according to Joey Ramirez of Lakers.com.

It has not been the type of journey any young player would envision or hope for, but Randle will return as a more mature and knowledgeable basketball pro, ready to join an intriguing, forward-thinking rebuild.

There's also the prospect of Randle playing alongside a certain Kobe Bryant. 

Entering his 20th and presumably final season in the NBA, "The Black Mamba" will provide a fascinating counterpoint to Randle—each coming off a major injury and a season of disappointment, each representing polar ends of their respective career arcs.

There has also been an unexpected upside to their collective downtime.

“Since last summer, I have spent countless hours watching and talking about basketball with Kobe,” Randle wrote for The Cauldron. “Not many people get that kind of opportunity, but it’s allowed me to study the game in a way I never could when I was actively playing it, and think about the path to development in more nuanced ways.”

Without a doubt, it has been a strange first season as a frontcourt hopeful sits and watches a losing Lakers team while unable to contribute anything save for written notes. 

But there have been a few bright spots along the way. Second-round rookie Jordan Clarkson has been a revelation, starting the last 30 games at the point guard position and blossoming into one of this year’s true draft success stories. Clarkson averaged 15.8 points, 5.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds during the month of March. 

Then there’s undrafted rookie shooting guard Jabari Brown, who has earned two 10-day call-ups from the Lakers’ D-League affiliate, the D-Fenders, as well as undrafted center/power forward Tarik Black, who was claimed off waivers from the Houston Rockets this season.

The Lakers could also have up to two first-round and two second-round picks in this year’s draft.

Los Angeles will also play the field in this summer’s free-agency market, as the team has the money to score at least one major player.

Whether Randle starts or comes off the bench to begin his second official season, he’ll once again seek to demonstrate the talents that created so much attention in the lead-up to the draft a year ago.

And in the process, he’ll continue to evolve his game, mixing rebounding skills with an array of offensive moves from mid-range pick-and-pops to thunderous dunks.

Randle and Clarkson romping down the court with Bryant waiting on the wing? That would be entertaining.

It has been a rough ride for fans of the Purple and Gold these last few years, but better days are in the offing.

And Julius Randle will help lead the way.