Just last week a couple of young Lakers got an excellent opportunity as D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Brandon Ingram were part of the USA Select Team and took part in Team USA’s camp in Las Vegas.
As part of the Select Team with other young stars such as Devin Booker and Jabari Parker, they got to practice and scrimmage against the US Olympic team. That means they were able to measure themselves against the likes of Kevin Durant, Paul George, Kyrie Irving, and DeMarcus Cousins.
Apparently they left an impact, at least on George, as according to Michael Pina of Bleacher Report, George singled out Russell and Randle as two of the players who stood out most:
Asked Paul George if anyone from USA Basketball's select team stood out last week. His answer will please Laker fans pic.twitter.com/dab4EFFFUO
— Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) July 26, 2016
This is surely something that is nice to hear as Russell and Randle seem to be improving and coming close to fulfilling their vast potential. Russell was seen on video going head to head with Irving and others while Randle spoke about battling Cousins.
With Russell already standing out during Summer League, he seems like a prime candidate to have a breakout year for the Lakers. Head coach Luke Walton has also praised him for his leadership abilities that he’s shown this off-season.
Randle, meanwhile, has flown under the radar this summer as he wasn’t a part of the Summer League squad. With so many others looking much improved it led to questions about how much Randle has actually improved, but George’s words should help to calm that.
Even though Ingram wasn’t mentioned by George, he was the subject of some kind words from Kevin Durant so as a whole, the Lakers trio made a mark during the camp. Now it’s simply about the Lakers transferring that into wins on the court.
