Julius Randle was considered one of the most NBA-ready players of this draft class and he came into an excellent situation with a Lakers team in need of talent in the frontcourt.
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Apparently, the oddsmakers agree as the people at Bovada have Julius Randle pretty high in their ranking for rookie of the year according to ESPN’s Arash Markazi:
Odds to win the 2014-15 Rookie of the Year via @BovadaLV: Jabari Parker – 3/1 Andrew Wiggins – 4/1 Nerlens Noel – 6/1 Julius Randle – 7/1
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) August 25, 2014
Those odds are relatively similar across the board as Sportsbook.ag has Randle fourth in their rookie of the year rankings with +750 odds.
Jabari Parker is expected to be the leader of the young Milwaukee Bucks. He will be the best player and starter from day one. Meanwhile Andrew Wiggins has the same opportunity in Minnesota with Love gone.
Nerlens Noel looked excellent in Summer League play and looks as if he will be a defensive force in the league for years to come.
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Randle will have an excellent opportunity to produce for the Lakers. Whether or not he starts won’t be an issue as he will have ample opportunity to play big minutes from the beginning of the season.
Coach Byron Scott has compared Randle to Zach Randolph. If he can do some of the things Randolph does in this season, he will definitely be a serious contender for this award.
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