WiggyRuss
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Ford-Pelton: Julius Randle a future Lakers star?
Long ESPN article looking at Clarkson and Randle.
Two guys analyzed each of them and the Lakers other young talent. These guys did a column a week or so ago analyzing the 10 best sophomores and neither Clarkson nor Randle made it- but both were close apparently.Some of the more relevant excerpts:
RANDLE:
Randle is off to a solid start on his first real season (he had a season-ending injury on opening night of his rookie campaign), averaging 11 points per game and 9.5 rebounds for the Lakers. But he's shooting only 41 percent from the field and has played questionable defense all season -- leading head coach Byron Scott to sit him often in favor of rookie Larry Nance Jr.
I've been pleasantly surprised by his rebounding. He's pulling down 29.5 percent of all available defensive rebounds, putting him in the league's top 10. Perhaps more important, the Lakers have been much better on the glass with Randle on the court, suggesting he's not just stealing rebounds from his teammates. Add in Randle's ability to initiate the fast break after grabbing a rebound and that's useful.
Randle's issues have actually been more on the offensive end. He's shooting only 41.3 percent on 2-point attempts and his shot chart shows his problems, from both close range and further out. Randle is barely making half of his attempts within three feet (51.2 percent), struggling to score over length. PerNBAminer.com, the 35 times he has had his shot blocked put him in the league's top 20 in that undesirable category.
I too had Randle just outside my top 10. He was the next guy in. But I don't think that will pacify Lakers fans. They want a superstar to build around and Randle shows enough flashes as a rebounder and ball handler in the open court to give them hope. I think that the long-term hope is Randle will start hitting jump shots. In high school, scouts thought of him as a very advanced offensive player with the ability to stretch the floor and put it on the deck.
Does Randle compare to star players?
Ford: Before the draft, Randolph and to a lesser extent Paul Millsap were the comps. I'm not confident he can hit either of those ceilings, which leads me to guys like Tristan Thompson (the rebounding!), J.J. Hickson and possibly Jared Sullinger.
I'm sure you've spit out some more accurate ones.
Pelton: You hit on several of the names my SCHOENE projection system has as comparisons for Randle. Sullinger and Thompson are both in the top 10 and Hickson and Randolph in the top 20.
SCHOENE's best comp is Drew Gooden, which I think makes a lot of sense in terms of lottery pedigree, rebounding prowess and relatively low-percentage shooting. Besides the pre-draft comps, there are a lot of long careers in that group but very few All-Star appearances.
CLARKSON
peaking of which, despite the second-best scoring average among sophomores, Lakers second-round pick Jordan Clarkson didn't make our top 10s either. What do you see in his future?
Rodney Stuckey or maybe a Jerryd Bayless type of player down the road.
To me this whole exercise means that, right now, D'Angelo Russell is their only true building block for the future -- unless, that is, Nance has you excited, Kevin. Russell has bounced back from a rough start to really begin to produce.
Pelton: I just assumed before the exercise that Clarkson would rank in the top 10 because of how effective he was as a rookie, but when I looked closely at the numbers, I wasn't impressed. Clarkson has never rated well by RPM, and his box-score stats have taken a turn for the worse this season, which is problematic for a 23-year-old player.
While there's certainly still room for Clarkson to develop at that age, when we talk about potential, remember that we're comparing him to what another second-year player like Marcus Smart will become with two more seasons of experience.
So I think Russell is the only Lakers youngster with a good shot at becoming an above-average starter. That's what makes it so important for them to retain their pick and find another young star in this year's draft.
Long ESPN article looking at Clarkson and Randle.
Two guys analyzed each of them and the Lakers other young talent. These guys did a column a week or so ago analyzing the 10 best sophomores and neither Clarkson nor Randle made it- but both were close apparently.Some of the more relevant excerpts:
RANDLE:
Randle is off to a solid start on his first real season (he had a season-ending injury on opening night of his rookie campaign), averaging 11 points per game and 9.5 rebounds for the Lakers. But he's shooting only 41 percent from the field and has played questionable defense all season -- leading head coach Byron Scott to sit him often in favor of rookie Larry Nance Jr.
I've been pleasantly surprised by his rebounding. He's pulling down 29.5 percent of all available defensive rebounds, putting him in the league's top 10. Perhaps more important, the Lakers have been much better on the glass with Randle on the court, suggesting he's not just stealing rebounds from his teammates. Add in Randle's ability to initiate the fast break after grabbing a rebound and that's useful.
Randle's issues have actually been more on the offensive end. He's shooting only 41.3 percent on 2-point attempts and his shot chart shows his problems, from both close range and further out. Randle is barely making half of his attempts within three feet (51.2 percent), struggling to score over length. PerNBAminer.com, the 35 times he has had his shot blocked put him in the league's top 20 in that undesirable category.
I too had Randle just outside my top 10. He was the next guy in. But I don't think that will pacify Lakers fans. They want a superstar to build around and Randle shows enough flashes as a rebounder and ball handler in the open court to give them hope. I think that the long-term hope is Randle will start hitting jump shots. In high school, scouts thought of him as a very advanced offensive player with the ability to stretch the floor and put it on the deck.
Does Randle compare to star players?
Ford: Before the draft, Randolph and to a lesser extent Paul Millsap were the comps. I'm not confident he can hit either of those ceilings, which leads me to guys like Tristan Thompson (the rebounding!), J.J. Hickson and possibly Jared Sullinger.
I'm sure you've spit out some more accurate ones.
Pelton: You hit on several of the names my SCHOENE projection system has as comparisons for Randle. Sullinger and Thompson are both in the top 10 and Hickson and Randolph in the top 20.
SCHOENE's best comp is Drew Gooden, which I think makes a lot of sense in terms of lottery pedigree, rebounding prowess and relatively low-percentage shooting. Besides the pre-draft comps, there are a lot of long careers in that group but very few All-Star appearances.
CLARKSON
peaking of which, despite the second-best scoring average among sophomores, Lakers second-round pick Jordan Clarkson didn't make our top 10s either. What do you see in his future?
Rodney Stuckey or maybe a Jerryd Bayless type of player down the road.
To me this whole exercise means that, right now, D'Angelo Russell is their only true building block for the future -- unless, that is, Nance has you excited, Kevin. Russell has bounced back from a rough start to really begin to produce.
Pelton: I just assumed before the exercise that Clarkson would rank in the top 10 because of how effective he was as a rookie, but when I looked closely at the numbers, I wasn't impressed. Clarkson has never rated well by RPM, and his box-score stats have taken a turn for the worse this season, which is problematic for a 23-year-old player.
While there's certainly still room for Clarkson to develop at that age, when we talk about potential, remember that we're comparing him to what another second-year player like Marcus Smart will become with two more seasons of experience.
So I think Russell is the only Lakers youngster with a good shot at becoming an above-average starter. That's what makes it so important for them to retain their pick and find another young star in this year's draft.
Just saw a sequence that is the Lakers season in a nutshell.
