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People compare him as a fast Zach Randolph but the more I see him play the more he reminds me of the Human Highlight Film.

He uses a lot of power moves, a lot of pump moves in the air, always trying to muscle in for a lay up. We basically got Dominique Wilkins with better court vision and handles...and less hops.

Didn't Dominique have a reliable mid-range shot though?

and what good is the comparison if you have to add the "less hops." that's literally part of why Nique got the name.

mini daryl dawkins seems more apt.

nah i like the odom/zach better. like wilkens without the hops is like magic without the passing.

So I was skepticle about Randle when we drafted him, and the injury last year didnt help that one bit. The truth is though that despite his size, he definitly has the physical tools to be a great player. He geniunly seems like a great kid and with his physical ability and work ethic the more I see him play, the more I'm glad that I was wrong about him.

That said, I don't know if I see the Dominique comparison. I think Randle is actually a very unique player, despite all the comparisons that have flown around. He has the Odom like play making potential , and the Zach Randolph craftiness potential , athleticism better than both Zach and LO imo (where the Nique comparison makes some sense), and lateral quickness for his size like Draymond Green. The problem is that he isn't that good at any one area yet, in my opinion. He is athletic enough to be a one man fast break once in a while, but he isn't Lebron level athletic to just dominate by putting his head down every time. He is a good play maker, but he isn't a LO type play maker that could run an offense for half the game. He is crafty in the post, but he lacks to size to be athletic as say, Zach Randolph. He has the lateral quickness, but he doesn't have anywhere near a defensive mindset like Draymond does.


^^^that being said, what makes me excited about him is his work ethic. I think step one is developing a jumpshot. That's literally something all the people we hope he would be like one day had. That jump shot will give him more space to drive, give him more attention to make plays, and give him smaller defenders to use his post skills on. I think if his work ethic is as good as advertised, there is no reason to think he can't develop a good jumpshot, and that by itself will change everything. I don't see him ever being as dominant in the post as Zach or being as good of a playmaker as LO or as good of a defender as Draymond. However, if he is able to be anywhere near them in those fields, stay healthy, and improve his jumpshot (maybe even extend to the three), then he is literally the prototype pf in today's league.

His achievable/realistic but still very optimistic peak to me is :Good enough to bang outside and exploit threes posing at 4's, quick enough to play the pick and roll and to guard the 3's posing as 4's, good enough playmaker to play in a ball movement fast offense, and good enough to space the floor (the area that needs the most work as of right now and would allow the other areas to flourish).

That is an allstar and a valuable piece in a championship team. let's just hope he gets there

nahh, i dont see it. human highlight film was much smoother, more fluid. randle is like a bulldozer. hes like a more athletic, quicker, stronger, slashing type larry johnson??


nique played under control. i like julius but im closing my eyes everytime he penetrates. i remember first summer league game where he steamrolled all over karl towns

I see pf Lamar in Randle. The rebounding machine that has wing skills to make u say wow every game.

Honestly, I see a combo of McDyess and Derrick Coleman. Obviously his own player, but shades of both those games.

With a smattering of "Nothing at all like Nique". Nor do I see much ZBo, other than the "I'd prefer not to jump" angle.

i dont like the zbo comparisons either. zbo is fat and slow. randle is muscular and fit, strong like an ox. im really haing a hard time tring to see which plaeyer randle comes close to.. maybe randle is like a more pumped up version of a young jworthy, minus the skills of course

RingsDontLie wrote:We basically got Dominique Wilkins with better court vision and handles...and less hops.

I've called Russell a deft-passing Jamal Crawford, called Okafor a smaller Brad Daugherty, and, to me, Randle's best comparison has always been a faster, more aggressive Blake Griffin, without the high-flying theatrics.

Blake Griffin is the same size, same length, same ball-handling skills, same physicality (Randle has more), same dynamic effect on games.

Take it from someone who came up in the eighties, an old-school basketball head, Dominique is a bad comparison.

Any offensive comparison with Randle has to first include aggressive driving to initiate physical contact, secondly, ball-handling, and lastly, speed.

Randle has Nique's aggression but Nique didn't leverage his body through physical contact to gain advantage line Randle.

That's a huge part of Randle's game.

Nique had nowhere near Randle's ball-handling either.

If Randle shows he can average double digit rebounding like Griffin (and I think he can), the comparison becomes even more solidified.

I've always thought that if Randle manages to rekindle his rebounding dominance from college, he'd prove to be the best power forward in the city of Los Angeles, but we'll just have to see.

ALL HAIL wrote:I've called Russell a deft-passing Jamal Crawford

Where are you getting this from?

iamworthy wrote:

ALL HAIL wrote:I've called Russell a deft-passing Jamal Crawford

Where are you getting this from?

Think about it.

Other than the passing ability, they have a great deal in common.

When you think about though, a "deft-passing passing Jamal Crawford" is not a bad NBA player at all.

No not even close, they're totally two different players. Nique was never that great of a playmaker that Julius will be. Nique's handle wasn't that good and he certainly wasn't the tank that Julius is. Nique was finesse and athletic as hell, had he possessed the two skills that Randle does well the Hawks would've been even better and may have taken out Bird's Celtics a few times in the process.

DEEP3CL wrote:No not even close, they're totally two different players. Nique was never that great of a playmaker that Julius will be. Nique's handle wasn't that good and he certainly wasn't the tank that Julius is. Nique was finesse and athletic as hell, had he possessed the two skills that Randle does well the Hawks would've been even better and may have taken out Bird's Celtics a few times in the process.

He was finesse in getting to the rim, but, once there, he would destroy it -- he was an extremely powerful and forceful [two-footed] dunker, one of the best ever.

ALL HAIL wrote:

DEEP3CL wrote:No not even close, they're totally two different players. Nique was never that great of a playmaker that Julius will be. Nique's handle wasn't that good and he certainly wasn't the tank that Julius is. Nique was finesse and athletic as hell, had he possessed the two skills that Randle does well the Hawks would've been even better and may have taken out Bird's Celtics a few times in the process.

He was finesse in getting to the rim, but, once there, he would destroy it -- he was an extremely powerful and forceful [two-footed] dunker, one of the best ever.

Oh most def...he just didn't have the playmaking skills that it seems like Randle has. The OP's comparison isn't even close.

Closer to Barkley than Dominique ... and closer to Odom than anything else.

Randle looks like raw lefty LeBron with some Fukuda-esque vibe (manga Slamdunk)

kblo247 wrote:Closer to Barkley than Dominique ... and closer to Odom than anything else.

I can see the Barkley comparison actually. Randle is obviously more physical than Nique and a bit on the Barkley side in that aspect. All I can say is once randle hits that mid range jumper on a consistent basis he is going to be unguardable.

i really hope he turns into a rebounding machine and push the ball like odom. easy and quick offense is what we need from the younger guys.