Many people were surprised when Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott made the move to bring Julius Randle off the bench as he had been one of the more consistent players to this point.
As a result of his new role, Randle has seen a decrease in his minutes and though he has looked frustrated at times, he insists that he is fine.
According to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, Randle insisted that he will only control what he can:
Julius Randle downplayed any frustration with limited playing time. He repeated the mantra that he will control what he can control
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 18, 2015
Randle also added that he simply lets the coaches decide who plays and who doesn’t via Medina:
Randle on limited minutes: "I let our coaches decide who's in and who's not."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 18, 2015
While Randle has had some struggles coming off the bench, particularly during the team’s two-game stretch in Texas, he has remained productive for the most part. Randle has four double-doubles in his six games coming off the bench and his effort has stayed consistent.
Randle surely has the right attitude in dealing with his lack of minutes. He has played 25 minutes or less in six of the last seven games and many players in his situation would be frustrated by this.
The fact that Randle’s play has remained consistent despite his lack of minutes is a good sign for the future of the franchise. When combined with D’Angelo Russell’s recent play, fans now have a reason to get excited for the future of the team.