The Lakers were stacked with talent like Julius Randle, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and more. They gave most of them away in the trade for Anthony Davis. However, they chose not to extend Julius Randle after what now seems to have been a bitter contention between the coaching staff and the power forward.
Lonzo Ball, who was teammates with Randle at the Lakers, has now come forward with some inside details on his role in the Lakers’ relationship with Randle. He recorded his podcast where he said:
The Lakers decided not to extend Julius Randle’s contract, ending his four-year stint with them in 2018. After leaving the Lakers, he signed with the Pelicans. He then entered free agency and went to the Knicks in 2019. In a blockbuster trade in October 2024, Randle was then traded to the Timberwolves with Donte DiVincenzo for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Randle has currently been pivotal in the Timberwolves’ run to the Western Conference Finals for the second time in consecutive seasons. Randle has averaged 21.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 14 games in the 2025 playoffs. He played well in games 1 and 3 of their Western Conference Finals (WCF) series with 28 and 24 points, respectively. However, he struggled to produce anything in games 2 and 4 with 6 and 5 points, respectively.
Randle’s contributions had so far been a boon for the Timberwolves to put away the Lakers and the Warriors in five games each. He averaged 23.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists in those 10 games. However, his inconsistency against the Thunder could cost the Timberwolves their series as they went down 1-3 after a 126-128 defeat in Game 4 of the WCF.
Were the Lakers right in giving Randle away for basically nothing except some free cap space? Or has he proven them wrong yet?
