James Harden
For NBA hopeful Randle, Bucks summer-league team is proving ground
James Harden

For NBA hopeful Randle, Bucks summer-league team is proving ground

Published Jul. 17, 2015 2:42 p.m. ET

LAS VEGAS -- Think of NBA summer league like this: A job fair where nobody wears a tie.

For a few of the 450 or so players on this year's teams at the three respective summer leagues -- Orlando, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas -- jobs for next season are guaranteed. They'll be in the NBA.

The vast majority, they don't know where the next check is coming from.

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Jerome Randle knows time is running out.

He was the Pac-10 player of the year in 2010, a year after James Harden won the award. He thought that meant the NBA would call.

He's still waiting.

"It's very discouraging," said Randle, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound guard who's on the Milwaukee Bucks' roster in Vegas. "I have a family to take care of. I love the game, so whether it's in the NBA or overseas, I just want to play the game. My dream is still to make to the NBA."

He's seen the world -- Turkey, Israel, the Ukraine, China and Belgium, plus he's spent time in the D-League. At 28, he needs the big break -- now.

"This is my last summer that I felt I was going to really try," Randle said. "It's a wear and tear on my body. ... I'm not frustrated. I just want to keep working hard and hopefully something happens."

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