Randle 'numb' to talk of being dumped by Lakers should they pursue LeBron, George
The Los Angeles Lakers have an upcoming dilemma, and power forward Julius Randle is making things harder for them with his strong play.
If the purple and gold envision a summer in which they sign the likes of LeBron James and Paul George, there's virtually no way they can keep Randle on board. And no one is more acutely aware of this than Randle himself.
"Oh, man, it came to a certain point where I was just numb to it," the 23-year-old power forward told ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk.
In the meantime, he's letting his play do the talking. Since becoming a starter on Dec. 29, Randle is averaging 18.6 points and 9.2 rebounds on 57.6 percent shooting. He also has the highest player efficiency rating on the Lakers this season.
Still, he remains somewhat expendable. The Lakers must extend Randle a qualifying offer by June 30 or renounce his rights, making him an unrestricted free agent. Picking up the option means a cap hold of $12.4 million and restricted free agency, where other teams can still tender him an offer sheet.
That's where things get complicated from the Lakers' perspective. If they pick up the option and another team signs him to an offer sheet quickly, the team will have a tough decision to make, probably before they have a theoretical free-agent commitment from one of - or both of - James or George.
With Randle's expected cap hold, the Lakers will have about $48 million in salary cap room. With Randle gone, they could have anywhere between $60 million and $70 million. Several teams figure to be interested in the power forward, including his hometown Dallas Mavericks.
Compounding matters further for Randle is that Kyle Kuzma plays his same position. For the moment however, it's a nice problem to have for the Lakers, even if they're not going to the playoffs.
Coach Luke Walton says that he knows Randle used the Lakers' refusal to extend his rookie contract as motivation this season.
"You didn't get an extension, go prove to us that we were wrong," Walton said. "It is not that we don't want you. That is not it at all. Play with that chip on your shoulder. So it was more along the lines of using anything that happens in life, whether it is the contract extension or people who don't believe, use that as motivation to become better."