Knixkik wrote:First off, if Randle is this exact player for the next 5 years followed by a very smooth decline than sign me up. That being said, Randle just turned 26 which is on the older side of first time all-stars, but still an age where star players are generally coming into their primes (and remain at that level for the remainder of their 20s.) Randle is a hard worker and seems to have the leadership and ownership required to be a franchise player. He welcomed criticism and responded by coming back as an elite player. Myself and so many others were dead wrong about him. I'm happy to say that.
All things considered, Randle has always been able to score but the improvements in 3pt shooting, ft shooting, and passing out of double teams has made him elite on offense. And his defense went from bad to someone in the level of average and impactful which is great coming from your best offensive player. I think the defense separates him from guys like Sabonis and Vucevic in terms of overall impact on winning. You can even make the argument that Randle is moving towards top-25 players in the league territory.
With all that being said, what is Randle's next level/ceiling? What prevents him from being a #1 option on a playoff team and franchise player? What does he need to go from all-star to superstar? And how confident are you that he can get there? My opinion is given that he just turned 26, he has time to get to the next level and turn into a superstar by 28-29, but what he needs to get there is the question.
The game can continue to slow down for him. He is physically playing well. He is in great shape. He is shooting the ball well. There is another level of court awareness he can obtain. That results in making better (not more) passes to increase assist totals. It will improve his overall plus minus.
He can increase his efficiency in shot selection. He has a tendency of settling for 17 foot jumpers - which he hits at a pretty solid clip. Nothing wrong with him. But to take it to the next level, he would to push those 17 foot shots behind the 3pt line and move the 12 footers into the paint and start drawing contact. You can be a good player without this, but that would take his offense to the next level by increasing his eFG.
On defense, I have no criticisms. I would want to see him continue to work on lateral movement. Haven't really looked at his deeper defensive stats (altered shots, opponent FG%), but I imagine he is doing well there.
Otherwise, he needs to find a running mate that he can get that meta-game going with. Stockton/Malone comes to mind. Create unguardable situations. It stops being about his individual development and more about the team. Right now he is the best player on a losing team. Next step is best player on a winning team...
This is the Randle.