Julius Randles Development Poses Final Leadership Test for Kobe Bryant: LOS ANGELES — His basketball legend already written in stone, Kobe Bryants virtue as a man again has found itself bandied about the digital arena today the very same way as in newspapers, radio and TV 10-to-15 years prior. Meanwhile, Bryant spends his time working out with Wesley Johnson, teaching Nick Young how to watch film and offers secret tips to Jeremy Lin, so maybe Kobe isnt the troll scaring away potential teammates some media reports suggest. In reality, Bryant is only doing what he has done for quite some time. He wants to win, and hes doing what he has learned from Phil Jackson about pushing buttons as soft or hard as might help guys grow immediately and give him and the Lakers a better chance. Now comes Julius Randle, 19. He is here to build his own legacy, but how he does it will very much be a reflection on Bryant. Either he will support what Bryant forged with Pau Gasol or reinforce that Bryant sparred with Shaquille ONeal and failed to connect with Dwight Howard. The big relationships are the make or break. Bryant became an NBA champion in the post-Shaq era by giving his personal shooting program to Trevor Ariza (I used it like it was the Bible, Ariza said), mentoring Sasha Vujacic on video analysis and defensive focus and befriending and mentoring Shannon Brown. But it was Bryants deep, effectual understanding with Gasol that marked that group. And what makes a team go or stop is whether its stars are aligned or cross. A fair interpretation was put forth in Henry Abbotts recent ESPN article about some top players, as in the case of Howard, not being excited about the idea of joining Bryant with the Lakers. There lies a fundamental risk for any star joining the Lakers of losing his precious status of the man because of two factors: Bryants control freak tendency limits your opportunities—or you are exposed at not being up to his level of commitment and excellence. (The thrust of the article blaming Bryant for the demise of the Lakers is way out of scale, however, and the recaps of Ramon Sessions leaving and Paul George not coming are flat-out wrong. Sessions had hoped to return to the Lakers but they went and got Steve Nash; George has patterned his career after Bryant and reveres him.) The Lakers need Randle to be such a player that his personality has to be considered in the makeup of the team. Even if that ascent doesnt fully happen alongside Bryant, it still qualifies as torch passing if Randle shows right now that hes going for great, not good. And if Randle shows right now that he is truly a Kobe guy, then this can become a real bridge to the Lakers future. As it is with any relationship, there has to be a match. Bryant made headlines by loudly and profanely suggesting late Sunday night that Randle would be a fool if he failed to take advantage of mentors such as himself, his own once-upon-a-time rookie mentor Byron Scott, future Hall of Famer Steve Nash and a proven veteran at Randles power-forward position in Carlos Boozer. If you f--- this up, a laughing Bryant told reporters about Randle, youre a really big idiot. As eye-catching as Bryants words were, the more important ones were spoken by Randle just minutes before in another corner of the Lakers locker room at Staples Center. Randle reflected on the advice Bryant has offered him privately—and you can decide how closely Randle was listening. Its up for me to mess it up, Randle said, keeping it PG. Kob said, You cant mess it up—unless you want to. Intentionally, I can mess things up. Having a coach like Byron, learning from greats like Kob, Booz, Nash, all those guys—on top of that, playing for the Laker organization, which has had much success in the past and knows how to deal with it and knows how to prepare for it—Im in the perfect situation. And speaking specifically about Bryants example, Randle said: The only answer to why hes so advanced is hes put in the work. Hes unbelievable. Randle grew up in the Dallas area being a Kobe fan more than a Lakers fan. (Even when Randle posted a throwback photo of himself to Instagram with the caption: Oh yall didnt know I grew up a LAKER fan? the boyish Randle was actually wearing his white jersey backward—showcasing the No. 8 and BRYANT—and you know what they say about playing for the name on the front of the jersey, not the back.) Randle is most definitely on board with Bryant now, including on one fundamental principle. Bryant once shared the same suggestion with a raw Blake Griffin: If you can shoot, you should shoot. The upshot is simple. The sooner a guy who can get to the basket with ease establishes his counterpunch, the sooner he graduates to unstoppable. The truth is that Randle is not a polished post player, no matter how much he filled that role at Kentucky because the Wildcats offense worked best with Randle drawing multiple defenders. Kentucky put a damper on Randles face-up game and nice jumper, and he has been trying to get back to that this preseason. That stuff is what blew the Lakers away in Randles predraft individual workout—the quickness, finesse and shooting to go with the power. So when a switch results in 66 Jazz guard Carrick Felix guarding the 69 Randle on Sunday night and Randle drives into a tough leaner that misses, every Lakers assistant coach gestures to Randle with a just-shoot-it motion. Randle does a minute later, stepping confidently into an 18-footer. After that, Randle puts the stutter-step fake drive on Jazz center Enes Kanter, shuffles slightly to his right and sinks the jumper from the right elbow, Bryant can be seen sneering on the Lakers bench at just how nasty that is. Unstoppable, even. So, hurry up and have Randle learn all this and join Bryant on the starting unit, right? The inverted possibilities of Bryants post play and Randles first step could be fascinating together. Well, Lakers coaches have already seen how Randle, even when his motor is revved up, defers to Bryant and dumps the ball to him or just wants to set screens for his idol when they play together. Theres also the thorny issue of Boozers pride in remaining a member of the starting lineup. When the day comes that Randles development might need a jump-start, perhaps starting him will be considered. Kupchak made it plain just before camp, however, what it should feel like when a kid first joins the team: It doesnt do any good, Kupchak said, to have high expectations of a player like that. Fair enough, yet Randle is clearly not out of his league right now. And what will he be in, say, one month, when he turns 20? When Bryant was 20, in his third NBA season but without the physique Randle possesses, Bryant started every game for the Lakers and averaged 19.9 points on 46.5 percent shooting. Is it possible that Randles mom really means it when she says her son is mature beyond his years—and perhaps he is more prepared to excel at his first job than even the Lakers brass thinks? I know what I can do, Randle said. Randle has been readying for this life longer than you know. He was in fifth grade when he joined a select team in Dallas with elite private coaching and training—funded by a billionaire dad, Kenny Troutt, who had the kids staying at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for a tournament, according to the Dallas Morning News. They even took road trips on the Mavericks and Spurs team planes. Bryants unshakable belief in himself and his destiny that isnt for everyone? Randle gets it, he really does. The sooner Randle can prove that he gets it, the sooner the stories about the Lakers move forward instead of back. Kevin Ding is an NBA senior writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @KevinDing. Read more NBA news on BleacherReport #Basketball #NBA #NBAPacific #LosAngelesLakers #fantasybasketball
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 22:55:41 +0000
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