The Los Angeles Lakers did not have the free agency run they were hoping for. With salary cap space to burn, the team was hoping to make a real run at marquee names like LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Jordan, but instead was forced to settle on a trade for Roy Hibbert and a contract for Louis Williams. Those moves were considered Plan C options, so the Lakers are hoping their younger crop of players pick up the slack as both Julius Randle and D'Angelo Russell have been on display in Summer League play.
According to Bleacher Report, early returns on the youth of the Lakers have not been positive. Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report has noted that both Randle and Russell are so concerned with being great immediately that they are struggling with growing pains that are showing as fans expressed their frustration with the squad during a game in NBA's Summer League. For Russell, he is expected to be the starting point guard for the Lakers in 2015 following inconsistency at the spot over the last few years with Steve Nash and Jeremy Lin. Randle is coming off an injury that ended his rookie season before it ever truly began. Both players are struggling under the pressure.
Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times reports there is concern with the young players of the Lakers who have been met with boos during Summer League. The concern is that most of the players on the court after expected to see a significant amount of playing time in the upcoming season. Jordan Clarkson has been holding his own as the team's leading scorer, but Russell and Randle have not met expectations.
According to head coach Byron Scott, Randle is not guaranteed a starting spot. The head coach noted that the second-year pro will be competing with the newly acquired Brandon Bass for the starting job. With what Randle is showing in Summer League, Bass will get the nod moving forward. Russell is currently battling with Clarkson to get the starting nod and the second-year point guard is beating him to the job. Clarkson has picked up right where he left off which should give some of the veterans a little hope moving forward.
"It's going to be a competition," Clarkson said, via ESPN.com. "We're going to compete. But at the end of the day, we're playing together and [at] summer league, whoever gets the ball off the rim, we're pushing it. We're trying to play fast, get up and down, get easy shots. And then defensively, we're just long and able to guard multiple guys. It's going to be fun."
