The LA Lakers' offseason plans took a hopeful turn when they got the nod of Golden State Warriors' assistant Luke Walton to become their head coach.
The Warriors' are having a season that most fans can only dream of but despite their seeming overnight success, the seeds of this team were planted a long time ago.
With the Lakers' young core, it seemed unavoidable that their fans would aspire them to tread the same path that the Warriors took. It was also inevitable that player comparisons would emerge.
Steph Curry, now the two-time MVP seems like he's one-of-a-kind and the Lakers would be delusional if they believe they have a player that would be "the next Steph" but there's another comparison that does not seem so far-fetched. In an ESPN feature by Jovan Buha, Julius Randle was compared to Draymond Green.
"Heading into the summer, a common comparison for Randle has been Warriors All-Star forward/center Draymond Green, as both have similar frames and skill sets, including ballhandling and passing abilities typical of much smaller players," Buha wrote.
An interesting point in the article is how incoming head coach Walton's role in making Green the player that he is now.
"Green has publicly stated how important Walton was for his development, and Randle believes he will have the same experiences playing in a similar role to Green in the Lakers' new schemes."
"Obviously there are a lot of similarities between Draymond and myself," Randle said. "There will be a lot to learn, but especially with the style of play, it'll be fun for us to get up and down. Sharing the ball is going to be big for us this year. Just building that chemistry on both sides of the floor."
However, it should be emphasized that Randle still has a long way to go. For one thing, Randle now is younger than Green was when the latter entered the NBA. Silver Screen and Roll notes the huge gap in terms of defensive capabilities.
"Green is one of the best defensive players in the NBA, still lightyears ahead of Randle on that end of the floor as of right now."
Player comparisons only place more pressure on the player but it can help young players like Randle to envision their game's ceiling. Randle has the skills and Walton can develop the intangibles that made Draymond Green the All-Star that he is now.