Los Angeles Lakers: Julius Randle Is The New Prototype

There are certain players that intrinsically define the position they play.

For example, Kobe Bryant is a shooting guard (not passing guard, amirite?). Zach Randolph and Karl Malone are power forwards.

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However, over the years, the unadulterated interpretation of traditional positions has been blurred. It’s no longer a black or white proposition. The advent of positional versatility has effectively curated a sizeable grey crater into the wisdom of stubborn conventionalists.

The designation between a point guard and a shooting guard, or a shooting guard and a small forward, is heavily dependent on a particular’s team offensive and/or defensive system, and more importantly, the varying skill sets of their most skilled players.

The said, evolution was famously started — or at least, noticed — with the rise of Magic Johnson; a pure point guard by trade, but a small forward by size and lateral foot speed.

As such, even though the Magic Man is most renowned for running the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers’ devastating fast break, it was his backcourt mate, Byron Scott, who assumed the duty of defending the opposing team’s floor general on most nights.

Unknowingly, Magic gave birth to the lineage of modern day point forwards.

Likewise, a mere decade later, a gangly seven-foot German by the name of Dirk Nowitzki graced the league with his awkward presence on an NBA court. And while he was/is a better shooter better than 90 percent of the starting shooting guards around the association, his lack of foot speed and anecdotal height pigeonholed the Dirk Diggler into the power forward position.

Without any resemblance of power in his game — or the type of classic power we were used to consuming with the Karl Malones and Charles Barkleys of decades past — we had to distinguish Nowitzki from the other stocky bruisers who played the position. Hence, the introduction to the contemporary stretch-4 was born.

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Even the incumbent best player on the planet, LeBron James, defies the time-honored characterization of a particular position. Categorized as a small forward, there is nothing small about the King.

Standing at 6’9″ and weighing north of 260 pounds, James is built like a prototypical power forward. His penchant for negotiating pick-and-rolls and whipping mind-numbing cross-court passes to his corner shooter, on the other hand, would lead you to believe he is a lead guard. Perhaps ESPN basketball analyst and former NBA player Jalen Rose put it best when labeling the Chosen One as a Power Guard.

Point is, outside of a handful of legends, the informal naming of positions does not delineate what type of a player one is — especially in the post-2010 NBA. You are who you can guard. Even if you are the best shooter on your team, if you’re a seven-foot rim protector, you’re most likely going to be a center.

The NBA game is changing — more so than in any other era over a five-year span.

The Lakers, for all of their championship success, have fallen behind the times. The franchise’s resume speaks for itself, and their past glory always followed a familiar formula. From Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. From Shaquille O’Neal to Pau Gasol. Los Angeles won by playing inside-out.

Modern analytics and the inflation of three-pointers have made the post-up game — which often times, leads to the dreaded contested midrange shot — almost obsolete. Lakers management has been snail-paced in accepting this fact. The team is annually among the league leaders in midrange and long two-point attempts, and by all accounts, they’re one of the few NBA teams without a recognizable presence at the MIT Sloan Conference.

That may be change, though, if the 2015 NBA Draft serves as any indication. By drafting D’Angelo Russell — a slithery ball-handling wizard, who thrives at controlling the pace of the modern day spread pick-and-roll game — over the old-school back-to-the-basket behemoth in Jahlil Okafor, the Lakers brass may have implicitly shifted their archaic philosophy.

Headlining the Lakers’ rebuild/leap into the future is Russell, Jordan Clarkson — an explosive ball-dominant combo guard — and their most integral piece going forward, Julius Randle.

In years past, most NBA teams could get away with playing checkers. However, with modern scouting, in conjunction with the reissuance of the zone, to be a successful franchise, the entire organization must fully engage in this never-ending game of chess.

Coaching staffs and upper management alike are desperately experimenting different lineups and strategies in an effort to emit a game-changing tactic — their own Tom Thibodeau ice everything, protect the rim defense; their own Mike D’Antoni Seven Seconds Or Less offense; their own Steve Kerr multiple pick-and-roll/dribble handoff motion attack.

Meanwhile, the effectiveness of the stretch-4 has suddenly become saturated, as more and more teams are housing a gang of like-size pterodactyls capable of switching 1 through 4.

Although most NBA squads deploy a four-out, one-in alignment, the majority of floor-spacing power forwards lack the post game to punish smaller wings, or the foot speed to beat a big off the bounce.

The Golden State Warriors showed the importance of employing a small-ball 4 with substance — someone (Draymond Green) who not only stretched the D, but could simultaneously make defenses pay with his playmaking and post game.

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Enter Julius Randle — a 6’9″ brute who could potentially evolve into a Dancing Bear on steroids given his foundation of ballhandling, court vision, and physical gifts.

The league is trending towards having multiple ballhandlers on the floor at any given time, and the prospects of housing a ball-in-hand creator at one of your frontcourt positions can engender a brand of havoc a duo point guard look or a three-guard lineup cannot inspire.

The triumvirate of Randle, Russell, and Clarkson — at full maturity — can serve as the pillars of a dribble-handoff induced, side-to-side ball moving attack.

With the former Kentucky Wildcat acting as the hub of their offense, the multi-skilled forward can bend opposing defenses with his rare concoction of power, vision, explosiveness, and ballhandling ability.

Randle — the No. 7 overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, who missed the majority of his rookie campaign after breaking his leg in his first ever regular season game — has been, by far, the most impressive Laker during exhibition play.

He gives you flashbacks of Charles Barkley in 1985 when grabbing and going in transition after snatching a defensive rebound; he’s bullying wings and guards alike once he gets two feet in the paint; and he’s also showcasing a more confident and efficacious outside stroke — whether pulling the trigger on the move or off the catch.

Randle has the physical profile, skills, and swagger to evolve into the newest en vogue crave: the playmaking 4.

Going forward, the 20-year-old has to continue to extend his range in order to maximize his impact. If he ever develops into an above-average spot-up floor spacer, his ability to pump-and-go would undoubtedly give the other 29 NBA teams unshakeable nightmares.

We are entering into a new era. Players like Randle, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the likely No. 1 overall pick of next year’s draft, Ben Simmons, are ushering in a new breed of soul taking, match-up nightmares.

Perhaps, greybeard teammate, Kobe Bryant, put it best when describing Julius Randle, telling Lakers reporter Mike Trudell, “He’s Lamar Odom in a Zach Randolph body.”

High praise from a living legend.

Next: NBA: The Big Question Facing Every Team In 2015-16

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