Lakers’ Randle relieved that his foot is no longer topic of discussion
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The right foot of Julius Randle was a huge topic of the discussion in the weeks leading up to the 2014 NBA Draft.
Some doctors thought Randle needed surgery. Others thought he didn't.
Randle had surgery to insert a screw into his broken right foot as a senior in high school. The chatter was surrounding the screw as there were some who felt the it needed to be removed. If that were the case, Randle likely would have missed six months.
After being selected 7th overall by the Lakers in last month's draft, the team sent him to foot specialist, Dr. David Porter last week.
Porter determined what Randle had been contesting all along -- he did not need surgery. Randle was left relieved not so much about the news but more so that his foot no longer needs to be a topic of discussion.
.@J30_RANDLE finishes with two in a row from the corner. https://t.co/gZzzbNVNEZ
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 7, 2014
"To finally have it over with and flying everywhere for my foot (is good)," Randle said at Lakers summer league practice Monday.
The results coming from Dr. Porter weren't much of a surprise to Randle who said he "kind of knew what the diagnosis was going to be."
The Lakers first-round selection participated in some shooting drills at the conclusion of practice but was not on the floor for the scrimmaging part of practice that was open to the media on Monday.
The team opens up summer league competition on Friday in Las Vegas against the Raptors. At this time, Randle is not expected to play unless he has signed his contract with the Lakers.
The Lakers rookie didn't have a definite answer when asked about his odds of being in uniform for the summer league opener.
"We'll see," he said. "It's, kind of, really out of my hands right now. I'm ready to play whenever but it's not really in my hands right now."
New story: Newest Laker Jordan Clarkson draws motivation from multiple sources http://t.co/Aw0pr3QQlN #Lakers
— Rahshaun Haylock (@RHaylock) July 7, 2014
As for his much talked about foot, Randle says he's not limited at all and has continued his workouts through the draft. If he feels pain, he says, he'll alert the Lakers training staff, but the foot didn't give him any problems during pre-draft workouts nor was it an issue last season at Kentucky allowing him to play the entire season.
"The grace of God and I didn't have any pain (allowed me to play last year)," Randle said. "It never really gave me any trouble last year whether it was in practice or in the game. It caught me by surprise when that stuff came out (about my foot)."
