Lakers clear Julius Randle for full-contact practice

Los Angeles Lakers power forward Julius Randle is ready for the next step in his long recovery from a broken leg that cost him all but 14 minutes of his rookie season. The team has cleared Randle for full-contact drills, and he did so Thursday in 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 halfcourt sessions.

The Lakers plan to keep him on those sets for a week before approving 4-on-4 drills, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.

Randle fractured his right tibia in his first NBA regular season game, a brutal development that kicked off the Lakers' worst season in franchise history. The team is holding out hope that the No. 7 pick in last year's draft will be ready to participate in summer league, but they will not clear him until he's absolutely ready.

Randle was cleared for non-contact activity in March.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Kentucky product seems to have been almost forgotten by some during speculation about who the Lakers will select at No. 2 in this June's draft. The power forward will essentially be an incoming rookie along with whoever the Lakers select.

Many peg fellow big men Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor as likely choices, while reports last week suggested interest in guards D'Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay. On Tuesday, GM Mitch Kupchak said the team is considering anywhere from four to eight players.