Randle trade rumor...Should Lakers Trade or Keep Randle?

[XXBKXX]

Even if we get decent offers for him I don't see magic/Pelinka moving him unless it results in a another expiring contract and a pick. Besides that I don't see them making a move as any other deal results in them taking on salary next year (which we all know they want to protect).

[Kilroy]

Randle has had three(?) years to show and prove and I don't see much improvement. He was being outplayed by both Larry Nance and rookie Kyle Kuzma. There's no way you risk missing out on a superstar because of Julius Randle.

You're blind then... He's improved in just about every major area he's been asked to.
In fact anything the Coaching Staff has asked of him, he's pretty much done... He's not a stretch 4... But if that's what they wanted, they shouldn't have drafted him.

He's never been outplayed by Nance... And he's never been outplayed on the defensive end by Kuzma.
Nance was a better fit for a while but even this season, what Randle's doing now, is way better than whatever Nance provided... In fact, he and Kuzma on the court are a far better combo than Kuzma and Lopez, or Lopez and Nance.

The fact is, there really aren't that many superstars avaiable... I think right now, Cousins may be the most available, maybe followed by LeBron at this point then George... But all of those are super long shots... If one of them doesn't sign, maybe none of them will.

So the question becomes, what if you loose out on all the Max FAs AND lose Randle for a late 1st...

[Landsberger]

I'd trade him at the deadline and never look back. What he brings is not that hard to find. The FO is going for the fences this offseason and I don't think we are re-signing him (at least I hope not) long term. Always be suspect of contract year improvements. When combined with chirping then be even more wary.

[Pythagoras]

Randle has had three(?) years to show and prove and I don't see much improvement. He was being outplayed by both Larry Nance and rookie Kyle Kuzma. There's no way you risk missing out on a superstar because of Julius Randle.

You're blind then... He's improved in just about every major area he's been asked to.
In fact anything the Coaching Staff has asked of him, he's pretty much done... He's not a stretch 4... But if that's what they wanted, they shouldn't have drafted him.

He's never been outplayed by Nance... And he's never been outplayed on the defensive end by Kuzma.
Nance was a better fit for a while but even this season, what Randle's doing now, is way better than whatever Nance provided... In fact, he and Kuzma on the court are a far better combo than Kuzma and Lopez, or Lopez and Nance.

The fact is, there really aren't that many superstars avaiable... I think right now, Cousins may be the most available, maybe followed by LeBron at this point then George... But all of those are super long shots... If one of them doesn't sign, maybe none of them will.

So the question becomes, what if you loose out on all the Max FAs AND lose Randle for a late 1st...

It’s like you read my mind with this post. The young team is finally starting to show signs of turning a corner. I’d hate to start blowing things up just for the chance to chase max guys in FA.

Randle has been fantastic this year, and absent a trade offer for him that’s clearly to our favor, you don’t put him on the block. Give him 25 min a game, and see if he can maintain this level of production (which he likely can). If he does, he’s probably worth giving a significant deal to.

[Kilroy]

Randle has had three(?) years to show and prove and I don't see much improvement. He was being outplayed by both Larry Nance and rookie Kyle Kuzma. There's no way you risk missing out on a superstar because of Julius Randle.

You're blind then... He's improved in just about every major area he's been asked to.
In fact anything the Coaching Staff has asked of him, he's pretty much done... He's not a stretch 4... But if that's what they wanted, they shouldn't have drafted him.

He's never been outplayed by Nance... And he's never been outplayed on the defensive end by Kuzma.
Nance was a better fit for a while but even this season, what Randle's doing now, is way better than whatever Nance provided... In fact, he and Kuzma on the court are a far better combo than Kuzma and Lopez, or Lopez and Nance.

The fact is, there really aren't that many superstars avaiable... I think right now, Cousins may be the most available, maybe followed by LeBron at this point then George... But all of those are super long shots... If one of them doesn't sign, maybe none of them will.

So the question becomes, what if you loose out on all the Max FAs AND lose Randle for a late 1st...

It’s like you read my mind with this post. The young team is finally starting to show signs of turning a corner. I’d hate to start blowing things up just for the chance to chase max guys in FA.

Randle has been fantastic this year, and absent a trade offer for him that’s clearly to our favor, you don’t put him on the block. Give him 25 min a game, and see if he can maintain this level of production (which he likely can). If he does, he’s probably worth giving a significant deal to.

Oh, I think Randle's gone... Either we trade him or he walks, but I don't see him staying here. He's not going to wait for us to sign other guys before he takes less to keep the band together.
I'm just saying losing him isn't a frivolous thing... Kuzma and Nance are the exceptions not the rule on late 1sts... There's every chance Randle will be better than whoever we were to pick, ever will be.

But at this point I can conceive of no scenario in which Randle would stay, and I suspect he's told the FO as much.

[dockingsched]

Even if the lakers strike out in free agency, you still can’t turn around and lock up the cap on a long term contract to a player of Randle’s caliber. He had to be traded if there’s a first round pick offer. If there isn’t then whatever just let him play out the season.

[Pythagoras]

You're blind then... He's improved in just about every major area he's been asked to.
In fact anything the Coaching Staff has asked of him, he's pretty much done... He's not a stretch 4... But if that's what they wanted, they shouldn't have drafted him.

He's never been outplayed by Nance... And he's never been outplayed on the defensive end by Kuzma.
Nance was a better fit for a while but even this season, what Randle's doing now, is way better than whatever Nance provided... In fact, he and Kuzma on the court are a far better combo than Kuzma and Lopez, or Lopez and Nance.

The fact is, there really aren't that many superstars avaiable... I think right now, Cousins may be the most available, maybe followed by LeBron at this point then George... But all of those are super long shots... If one of them doesn't sign, maybe none of them will.

So the question becomes, what if you loose out on all the Max FAs AND lose Randle for a late 1st...

It’s like you read my mind with this post. The young team is finally starting to show signs of turning a corner. I’d hate to start blowing things up just for the chance to chase max guys in FA.

Randle has been fantastic this year, and absent a trade offer for him that’s clearly to our favor, you don’t put him on the block. Give him 25 min a game, and see if he can maintain this level of production (which he likely can). If he does, he’s probably worth giving a significant deal to.

Oh, I think Randle's gone... Either we trade him or he walks, but I don't see him staying here. He's not going to wait for us to sign other guys before he takes less to keep the band together.
I'm just saying losing him isn't a frivolous thing... Kuzma and Nance are the exceptions not the rule on late 1sts... There's every chance Randle will be better than whoever we were to pick, ever will be.

But at this point I can conceive of no scenario in which Randle would stay, and I suspect he's told the FO as much.

I agree with this too. I think the chances are much better than not that Randle is gone this year, which is a shame IMO.

For better or worse, Magic seems to be completely committed to his plan to chase multiple max FAs. Time will tell if it proves the right strategy.

[Pythagoras]

Even if the lakers strike out in free agency, you still can’t turn around and lock up the cap on a long term contract to a player of Randle’s caliber. He had to be traded if there’s a first round pick offer. If there isn’t then whatever just let him play out the season.

My concern with this logic is, at what point do you stop valuing cap space over talent? How many years and how many good players do you keep sacrificing to preserve cap.

Also, are we sure we know what caliber of player Randle is for certain? It would be nice to at least attempt to see if he can give you this level of production on a higher mpg average, just so we could be at least sure.

I just worry that Magic isn’t doing his complete due diligence on Randle.

[Kilroy]

Even if the lakers strike out in free agency, you still can’t turn around and lock up the cap on a long term contract to a player of Randle’s caliber. He had to be traded if there’s a first round pick offer. If there isn’t then whatever just let him play out the season.

My concern with this logic is, at what point do you stop valuing cap space over talent? How many years and how many good players do you keep sacrificing to preserve cap.

Also, are we sure we know what caliber of player Randle is for certain? It would be nice to at least attempt to see if he can give you this level of production on a higher mpg average, just so we could be at least sure.

I just worry that Magic isn’t doing his complete due diligence on Randle.

Yeah, even though it's a virtual certainty that Randle's gone, I was going to post the same thing...

Randle is improving each year, I'm not sure we really know how good he can be...

And as a comparison... I'm a big Ingram fan too... But is Ingram better than Randle right now? I don't think Ingram does anything better than Randle does right now in all honesty. And from a purely basketball perspective, I think if I was Luke, I'd swap them.

Kuz has been effective as another scorer, but Ingram, not so much.

I personally, think Ingram's ceiling is way higher than Randle's, but he's going to have to get paid in a year or so too... And right now, I think we'd win more games with Randle in instead of Ingram. ANd I think Ingram would be better against second units.

[Michael Lucky]

Even if the lakers strike out in free agency, you still can’t turn around and lock up the cap on a long term contract to a player of Randle’s caliber. He had to be traded if there’s a first round pick offer. If there isn’t then whatever just let him play out the season.

My concern with this logic is, at what point do you stop valuing cap space over talent? How many years and how many good players do you keep sacrificing to preserve cap.

Also, are we sure we know what caliber of player Randle is for certain? It would be nice to at least attempt to see if he can give you this level of production on a higher mpg average, just so we could be at least sure.

I just worry that Magic isn’t doing his complete due diligence on Randle.

as long as it takes to have a championship roster.

[TylersLakers]

Randle has had three(?) years to show and prove and I don't see much improvement. He was being outplayed by both Larry Nance and rookie Kyle Kuzma. There's no way you risk missing out on a superstar because of Julius Randle.

You're blind then... He's improved in just about every major area he's been asked to.
In fact anything the Coaching Staff has asked of him, he's pretty much done... He's not a stretch 4... But if that's what they wanted, they shouldn't have drafted him.

He's never been outplayed by Nance... And he's never been outplayed on the defensive end by Kuzma.
Nance was a better fit for a while but even this season, what Randle's doing now, is way better than whatever Nance provided... In fact, he and Kuzma on the court are a far better combo than Kuzma and Lopez, or Lopez and Nance.

The fact is, there really aren't that many superstars avaiable... I think right now, Cousins may be the most available, maybe followed by LeBron at this point then George... But all of those are super long shots... If one of them doesn't sign, maybe none of them will.

So the question becomes, what if you loose out on all the Max FAs AND lose Randle for a late 1st...

Then Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka should be fired. And I'm not kidding. If they do deal Randle, they would have traded Randle, Russell and got cap space, a year of Brook Lopez and possibly a draft pick?

That's absolutely disgusting, especially considering the moves weren't needed until agreements were made.

[TylersLakers]

The fact that many have voted "Trade him" is very concerning.

[RingsDontLie]

The fact that many have voted "Trade him" is very concerning.

Well everyone wants to roll the dice, get cap, and chase max free agents this summer.

If Magic Johnson knows 100% that Paul George is coming here...then there is incentive to make this move...trade Randle, possibly dump Deng in the process..because If we got Paul George, there is a high possibility we can get another all star.

But that is the only conclusion I can come up with...Magic knows for sure Paul George is coming.

[Michael Lucky]

The fact that many have voted "Trade him" is very concerning.

Well everyone wants to roll the dice, get cap, and chase max free agents this summer.

No, some of us want him traded to keep cap flexibility for more than just this summer.

[DanishLakerFan]

Undecided.

Assuming they really dont have any intentions of keeping him i think IF we can get something that resembles fair value for him, which would someone who can be productive and whose contract situation doesn't hurt us too much with regards to our spending ability, i'd be fine with us moving him. I'm thinking a late first rounder and an expiring or perhaps someone still on their rookie deal.

But if all we can get is a 2nd rounder then i'd rather pass, let him be productive this season and see what happens in free agency.

[iQon]

I'm veering towards the side of keeping him, but there has to be concessions on BOTH sides financially, to make this work.

Julius should give us a discount on a short term contract, and we should give him a good chunk of the cap coming off the books from KCP and Brewer.

Like it or not, we don't have PG, LeBron, or Cousins. This is the best expiring that we've had in years. Build with him and hope we can get Boogie and some guards that can score when Lonzo puts the ball in their hands.

[Spanish_Laker]

Keep him since nobody is coming next summer. Let's build a contender with this core.

[BBBKobe]

Folks, it's not hard to understand. Our front office, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, have stated many times the goal is to sign two max contracts. Thus, we need every penny possible this summer. Randle has a 12.4 million cap hold this summer.. it's basic math folks.

Trade him for a late 1st and let Jesse Buss and Ryan West do their magic.

[TKainZero]

I think lakers need to keep Randle and use him as the firsT big off the bench

Clarkson/Randle are two good bench players who can easily spot start.

I wouldn't be opposed to giving Randle a deal similar to Clarkson and have him embrace the 1st big off the bench role

[carlquincy]

I'm torn. He's playing really really well recently.

Great energy. Very good defense. He just don't fit the 2 max FA plan.