Los Angeles Lakers worried Julius Randle is out of shape?
By Bryan Rose
Going into the 2014 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers knew they needed to add some size. There wasn’t much beef to be had in the guard/forward heavy lottery, but what little was to be found the Lakers nabbed in Julius Randle.
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The former Kentucky power forward isn’t light on confidence as he’s already stated that he plans to win the 2014-15 NBA Rookie of the Year award, though the Los Angeles Lakers believe he’ll need to get in better shape if he’s to accomplish such.
Considering Julius Randle is expected to see a significant amount of floor time this year, the Lakers are hoping that they can get him more acclimated to the NBA game before the season begins and that will start with a more sculpted body.
That’s the word from Lakers head coach Byron Scott who says the two sides are already working on the improvements.
“We’re been working on his post game and face up game, but the biggest thing is to get him in shape,” Scott stated. “As a rookie, you don’t want to come into training camp out of shape. Then the season is halfway over by the time you get acclimated. We want him to get in great shape right now, and then he can start learning the system on both ends of the floor. We’re already putting him through a lot of defensive things right now to get him going.”
Often times you see a rookie struggle during the first part of the season only to get better after the All-Star break as they’ve acclimated themselves to the league. Julius Randle and the Lakers are hoping they can avoid that growing period and hit the ground running.