New Orleans Pelicans: Julius Randle enjoying a career year

Following an up-and-down stint in Los Angeles, Julius Randle appears to have found his footing suiting up for the New Orleans Pelicans.

Julius Randle came into the NBA as the seventh overall pick back in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Blessed with incredible size, speed and ball-handling abilities, he was dubbed a cross between Zach Randolph and Lamar Odom which, if you know you’re league history, would be a very tough player to slow down on the offensive end.

Randle had become the unofficial face of this new era in Lakers basketball. The team had failed to qualify for the postseason the year prior for the first time in nearly a decade.

Kobe Bryant had made it back from his Achilles tear only to be shut down after six games due to ailments in his left knee and at 35 years of age, it was clear L.A. had to start planning for the days when No. 24 would no longer show up for games.

The young forward wound up missing all but 14 minutes of his rookie season due to a leg injury suffered in his very first game, so the purple and gold faithful would have to wait just a little bit longer to see what he was capable of, and it wouldn’t be until the following season where Randle would begin to show what made him so attractive coming out of Kentucky.

Over his first few seasons with the Lakers, it was somewhat difficult to get a read on the young player. There were stretches where he’d flash his all-around brilliance as an inside-out threat and others when his energy and effort would be questioned.

It didn’t help that he was forced to find his niche and develop during Bryant’s last few legacy seasons of ball-hogging and shot-chucking, but it also wasn’t aided by the fact that Randle has a unique set of skills that need to be surrounded by the perfect cast of teammates.

He has the ability to handle the basketball but can’t shoot from the outside. He’s built like a truck at 250 pounds, but at 6’9” with an average wingspan, he can’t protect the rim. Your game is your game and Randle certainly had plenty.

That didn’t make it easier to put him in the greatest position to succeed.

So, he had to make do with his situation in Los Angeles, constantly fighting for attention as LA brought new and exciting rookies every year that would take more and more of the spotlight.

Luke Walton did a better job of putting the ball in his hands last season, but with so many guys in need of developing and the addition of LeBron James, those same chances likely wouldn’t be available moving forward.

Once the Lakers renounced his rights as a restricted free agent, there were little to no excuses to not find a better fit that would better serve his basketball talents.

Now a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, Randle is thriving surrounded by incredible talent that has led to the some of the best numbers of his career, including career-high marks in points, player efficiency rating and true shooting percentage, all in less than 30 minutes a night.

Randle has split time between the starting lineup and New Orleans’ sixth man role due to the injuries and subsequent trading of Nikola Mirotic and yet continues to dominate on a nightly basis, handling the basketball more than ever and encouraged to make plays for himself and others.

Playing next to Anthony Davis has done wonders for the fifth-year forward in terms of being a perfect complement in the frontcourt with the ability to space the court and serve as the Pelicans’ last line of defense.

While guys like Jrue Holiday and E’Twaun Moore (and at one point Mirotic) provide the 3-point shooting to keep the lanes open in ways Randle rarely if ever had in Los Angeles.

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With a player option for next season, Randle may very well opt out of his deal in the hopes of signing a more lucrative long-term contract coming off his best season as a pro.

Given how well New Orleans has been for him, it’ll be interesting to see whether he decides to stay long-term, especially with the likely impending departure of AD.

Not all players are built to lead a franchise and some take more time and need better circumstances in order to develop. It took half a decade and an exodus from one of the league’s premier teams, but Randle finally seems to have found his niche in the NBA, a realization that is going to spell trouble for the rest of the league for years to come.