After quietly signing five players on the first day of the free market, the Lakers made a new move on the second day, which was to complete a contract extension with Julius Randle for four years and US$46 million.
As a forward selected by the Lakers with the seventh overall pick in the first round of 2014, Randle has performed remarkably well in his four seasons with the Lakers. Especially last season, he almost shared the power forward position with Kuzma.
Played in 82 games, started 49 games, and scored 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds in 26.7 minutes of playing time.
This was still the case when Wang Feng's arrival affected the data.
Without Wang Feng, Randle would have averaged 16.1 points and 8 rebounds per game this season. He chose to sign with the Pelicans in the summer and averaged 21.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for the Pelicans in the 18-19 season.
.
Randle then signed a three-year, $63 million contract with the New York Knicks, and reached the peak of his career in the 2020-21 season, averaging 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in 37 minutes per game!
Even with the dual-core championship lineup of James + Davis, Lakers fans will still regret that the team let go of a high-quality insider like Randle from time to time.
Now that Wang Feng has come to the Lakers, it is of course impossible for the Lakers to let go of a high-quality power forward with outstanding athletic ability like Randall. Moreover, Randall is really cheap now. He can win it for 46 million in 4 years. On average,
The annual salary is 11.5 million US dollars, which is high quality and low price.
You must know that an annual salary of tens of millions will basically be the average annual salary of an ordinary starting player after two years. With the level of Randall's performance in the next few years, a four-year 46 million contract extension is really a good deal.
.
Of course, Randall is not really perfect. His shortcomings are also obvious. As an inside player, his height of 2.03 meters is too short. And although he has strong physical fitness and is powerful in hitting the basket, he does not have the ability to shoot three-pointers.
, being a short player is a fatal flaw.
Fortunately, the Lakers have another power forward, Kyle Kuzma, who can complement Randle on the court.
Of course, this is just a backup plan left by Wang Feng just in case. If the Lakers really have nothing to gain in the summer, with this lineup, they can still perform well next season.
And if the Lakers really have the opportunity to trade for Jimmy Butler, as Wang Feng thinks, then Randall, Ball and others will become the best trading chips.
By then, the Lakers can retain the forward combination of Wang Feng, Butler, and Ingram, and there will also be Kuzma sitting on the bench, so the configuration will be fully loaded!
As forwards, the biggest difference between Randall, Ingram and Kuzma is their shooting range.
The latter two both have outside shooting ability, which can help the team open up space, are better off the ball, and their athletic ability is not bad either.
If there is a trade, Wang Feng will naturally be more inclined to keep these two players.
As for Jimmy Butler's trade, the biggest bargaining chip Wang Feng can accept is Ball + Randle plus a first-rounder.
After all, the 76ers' price for trading Jimmy Butler was nothing more than Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerry Bayless and a second-round pick.
The value of Ball + Randall is definitely higher than the 76ers' bid. After all, Ball is still considered by many to be a high-quality second pick who has the opportunity to grow into a top point guard.
…
After completing the contract extension with Randle, the Lakers briefly entered silence in the next few days.
The alliance continues to provide various news.
On July 3, Pelicans All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins chose to join the Golden State Warriors on a one-year, $5.3 million contract.
As soon as this news came out, it immediately caused a sensation in the alliance, and the entire alliance was shocked!
Although he suffered a serious injury from a ruptured Achilles tendon last season, Cousins was a super insider who could average 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game before the injury!
No matter how serious the injury is, many people think that a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Cousins is still worth an annual salary of 20 million. Even if it is just a short contract of one or two years, it is necessary to check his recovery status.
In fact, the contract offer provided by the Pelicans to Cousins was a two-year, $40 million contract extension.
With Cousins joining the Warriors, the Warriors have truly formed a lineup of five All-Star players, and a veritable five-star Warriors has been officially formed.
The entire Internet is filled with pessimism about the NBA Finals.
The Warriors are already strong enough. They have won three championships in four years and are led by two regular season MVPs in their prime. Now they have even added an All-Star center who scored 25+12+5 last season. This makes other teams
How else to play?
On the Lakers side, Johnson felt regretful and beat his chest after hearing the news.
The Lakers have ample salary space and can give Cousins a big contract to get the first move!
In fact, Johnson has the same idea as the general managers of other teams. Considering that Cousins suffered a serious injury from a torn Achilles tendon, he is unwilling to provide him with a long-term contract and high salary.
If the price tag is around US$20 million, it's definitely worth the gamble! There's no way the Warriors can rob such a top insider for just US$5 million!
However, what surprised Johnson was that Wang Feng seemed very calm after learning the news.
"Don't worry, the Warriors getting Cousins is not necessarily a good thing. We just need to follow our plan."
Isn’t it necessarily a good thing for the Warriors to acquire Cousins?
This statement sounds obviously like sour grapes.
The Warriors only paid $5.3 million to sign Cousins. Even if Cousins is really useless and can't play a game with the Warriors, how much can the Warriors lose?
Johnson didn't know that what Wang Feng meant was a series of chain reactions that resulted from Cousins coming to the Warriors.
The Warriors fell short in the 18-19 playoffs, not just because their teammates frequently suffered injuries. Although injuries are a very important reason, the trigger is huge psychological pressure.
With such a luxurious lineup, the Warriors cannot lose in the playoffs no matter what, otherwise they will be nailed to the pillar of shame.
With such a psychological burden, Warriors players work extremely hard on the court, especially in the playoffs, because they are afraid of failure.
Because of this, Durant and Thompson suffered injuries one after another in the playoffs. Durant, who was unwilling to fail, forced his comeback in the finals, and then was completely injured and ended the season!
Sometimes, it's the last straw that breaks the camel's back.