Los Angeles Lakers: Ideal NBA Draft, free agency moves to make

Step 2: Re-sign Julius Randle

Here’s where it gets interesting.

After landing Robinson at No. 25, the future of the Lakers’ frontcourt is much brighter. It doesn’t, however, mean they should stop there. Instead of spending too much to land a big-name free agent, why not keep the homegrown talent and re-sign Julius Randle?

According to Randle, there’s mutual interest in this possible outcome. During ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski’s podcast, the Lakers’ high-energy big had this to say when asked if he’d like to be involved in the final stage of the rebuild:

"“That would be really cool. I feel like I’ve been the start of the rebuilding process. I was the first lottery picks when they started getting lottery picks. I mean, yeah, it would be cool.”"

As you can probably imagine, though, he provided a caveat. As much as he’d like to stay put, he has to stay focused and do what’s best for him. If that means finding a new place to call home, then so be it. However, it is worth noting the Lakers appear interested in working something out as well.

Rob Pelinka recently told the LA Times‘ Tania Ganguli that the Lakers haven’t set a threshold for what they’re willing to pay Randle. In that same piece, his agent, Aaron Mintz, claimed that there’s mutual interest, but that it’s unclear “where Julius stands among the Lakers’ priorities.”

Either way, the Lakers need to find a way to make it work. Randle was a revelation this past season, proving to be a spark plug on both ends of the court and often picking up the slack when his teammates struggled. The improvement he displayed on previous campaigns as well as throughout the year was more than enough to confidently claim he’s worth keeping around.

He may never be a superstar, but it’s clear he belongs on this roster. If the Lakers are smart, they’ll invest some of that critical cap space in retaining Randle.