Ahead of an important offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers have a number of decisions to make. On the one hand, they want to keep some of the young talent they've drafted recently, but on the other, they want to open up cap room for multiple big-name free agents -- Paul George, perhaps LeBron James.
However, the Lakers can't have both. Thus, one player that is reportedly unlikely to stick with the Lakers long-term is Julius Randle. Adrian Wojnarowski broke down the situation on NBA Countdown on ESPN ahead of the Lakers' game against the Boston Celtics.
"One player whose future is very unlikely to contiue with the Lakers is Julius Randle, their third year forward. Rob Pelinka, their general manager, and Magic Johnson, their president, will be faced with this question. Do they look to trade Randle between now and the February trade deadline and get back potentially a first-round draft pick for him, or do they roll the dice and wait until summer when he's a restricted free agent."
The dilemma for the Lakers is that Randle is a very nice young player, but in order to make room for multiple max contracts in the summer, they'd likely have to move him. However, if you let Randle walk and then strike out on any big names, you could be left empty-handed.
What the Lakers ultimately decide to do with Randle will be a fascinating subplot this season.
