Randle cleared for 5-on-5, Lakers confident he'll play in Summer League

The upshot of the Los Angeles Lakers' unfamiliar spot at the bottom of the NBA standings the past two seasons has been a spot at the top of the NBA Draft lottery.

That didn't pay any dividends for them last year, though, as No. 7 overall pick Julius Randle suffered a fractured tibia in the first game of the regular season, and spent the rest of the campaign rehabbing.

Now with No. 2 overall pick D'Angelo Russell aboard, and Randle on the comeback trail, the Lakers are set to trot out two exciting rookies this season. They're hoping to get the pair some run together in Las Vegas Summer League, which kicks off on July 10.

While there was some initial uncertainty about whether he'd be ready in time, the Lakers have cleared Randle for full-court five-on-five drills, and expect him to play in Las Vegas, according to Mark Medina of the LA Daily News.

"He looks great," head coach Byron Scott said. "He looks great. His body looks great and getting up and down the floor."

Randle is said to have shed some weight and improved his jump shooting, and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak called his participation in Summer League "very important."

Perhaps the most crucial thing for the Lakers' staff to figure out this summer is how to best deploy their young forward. Randle doesn't appear to fit a prototypical positional mold in the NBA, with raw skills that befit a power forward, but a style that hews closer to a swingman.

"I know he likes to turn and face," Kupchak said. "I know he likes to get out and run. I know he has great size and great strength. But I don't think he is a prototype power forward. I don't think he's your typical small forward. He's not a stretch four. He's a versatile player that has to find his way in this league. We're going to be challenged as a coaching staff to figure out how to best get him to play a game that will help us win games."

The Lakers demonstrated their commitment to Randle's development by reportedly balking at including him in a trade package for Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins. But if they manage to reel in one of their free-agent power forward targets, finding the right role for Randle could require some creativity.