Julius Randle did this earlier than. He performed middle within the NBA. He performed it frequently, actually, as a younger member of the Lakers.
Now with Randle going through the potential for returning to middle — at the least in spurts, as instructed just lately by Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau — it’s value exploring the way it labored in Los Angeles and understanding its potential.
“There’s the great and the unhealthy with that,” Jud Buechler, the previous Lakers and Knicks assistant, informed Sports activities+. “I feel the great actually outweighs a few of the adverse stuff with that.”
Buechler was on the Lakers employees when Randle logged 49% of his general minutes at middle, based on an estimate from Basketball Reference. Head coach Luke Walton had Brook Lopez and Andrew Bogut, however opted usually for small-ball lineups with Randle at middle within the frontcourt alongside Kyle Kuzma.
