In a move that can’t be considered too surprising, the Los Angeles Lakers have extended a qualifying offer to young forward Julius Randle, making him an restricted free agent.
The Lakers have extended a qualifying offer to forward Julius Randle thus making him a restricted free agent.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) June 27, 2018
If Los Angeles had decided against going this route, the 23-year-old Randle would have hit the unrestricted free agent market. Now that he’s restricted, the Lakers can match any offer for the young star.
A top-seven pick of the Lakers back in 2014, Randle averaged a career best 16.1 points per game on 56 percent shooting while adding 8.0 rebounds per outing this past season. Along with the likes of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, he’s seen as a potential franchise cornerstone moving forward.
With that said, this decision could also lead to Randle being dealt away in a sign-and-trade. Linked to San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, any deal that brings him to the Lakers would likely have to include Randle.
For his part, the forward could very well be looking at a near-max deal once free agency opens up this coming weekend.