Lonzo Ball on Lakers 'disrespecting' Julius Randle
Lonzo Ball on Lakers 'disrespecting' Julius Randle
Even though the Los Angeles Lakers now have Luka Doncic and LeBron James, they still have some fans who miss the young prospects they were accumulating before James came to town in 2018.
The Lakers went six straight years without making the playoffs until they won the NBA championship in 2020. But toward the end of that drought, they had a group of promising players that included point guard Lonzo Ball and big man Julius Randle.
While on the "What an Experience" podcast, Ball recalled one incident with the Lakers that he felt was disrespect to Randle.
"They sat us all down early in the season in the locker room, went through everybody's roles and [expletive]," Ball said. "They got to [Julius Randle]. They talking about 'just rebound and set screens, nothing else'. I'm like, 'What the [expletive]?' So then I'm like, 'Nah,' I low key spoke up. I'm talking about 'nah'. Like he one of our best players… And then after that [expletive], that's when we got cool after that. But nah, they was disrespecting him crazy in LA, bro. And now look what he doing now."
Ball was one of the most hyped NBA players ever when he came out of the University of California, Los Angeles as the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. But he has never even come close to meeting that hype, although he has been a useful player when available.
In two seasons with Los Angeles, he averaged 10.0 points, 6.4 assists and 6.2 rebounds a game while shooting 38% from the field and 31.5% from 3-point range. He was shipped off to the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2019 trade that brought L.A. Anthony Davis, and afterward, he greatly improved his 3-point shooting.
However, he has been unable to stay healthy. He has played in just 287 games since being drafted, and he missed all of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons following a meniscus tear he sustained midway through the 2021-22 campaign.
Randle, the No. 7 pick in the 2014 draft, spent four seasons with the Lakers and averaged 16.1 points on 55.8% field-goal shooting and 8.0 rebounds per game during his final season with them. He left afterward as a free agent, and some fans have criticized the Lakers for letting him leave rather than getting anything in return for him.
He is now an integral part of a Minnesota Timberwolves team that is about to make its second straight appearance in the Western Conference Finals.
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