Los Angeles Lakers power forward Julius Randle struggled a bit with his conditioning in the 2016-17 season, as there are very few players that possess the skills to handle the ball like he does at his size, but sometimes getting up and down the court was an issue.
Randle dedicated this offseason to getting into better shape, particularly because of the team’s new roster, led by point guard Lonzo Ball who likes to push the pace.
Randle recently commented on his offseason conditioning program, saying that he believes he will be able to play effortless now that he is in better shape, via Mark Medina of the Southern California News Group:
“I’ll be able to move and not have to think about it,” Randle said. “It will be effortless.”
One thing that has been stressed all throughout the offseason by the front office and coaching staff with the free agent signings they made is that the team is trying to play positionless basketball, so defenders have the ability to switch on any screens. Randle also emphasized that point:
“Trying to play positionless basketball,” Randle said. “We’ll all be able to work together.”
Randle is coming off a season in which he improved in many aspects, averaging career-highs in points (13.2 per game), field goal percentage (48.8 percent) and assists (3.6) to go along with 8.6 rebounds.
Heading into the last year of his rookie contract, Randle will look improve once again in the upcoming season to put himself in line for a big payday next offseason.