Julius Randle Injury

Julius Randle Injury

As the NBA draft approached, team doctors warned front office executives: Feel free to choose Kentucky’s Julius Randle, but he needed surgery to protect against long-term issues with his right foot.

Several general managers had come to that conclusion based on the recommendations of medical staff, but the Los Angeles Lakers studied the foot, the screw inserted within it and chose a different course. The Lakers selected Randle seventh overall and disagreed with the findings of several teams choosing inside and out of the lottery. The Lakers had access to study the foot longer and closer, and declared unnecessary a procedure that would’ve cost Randle two months of summertime recovery.

As it turned out, it wouldn’t be Randle’s right foot on the opening night of his NBA career, but his right tibia. He broke his leg on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, crumpling to the floor and leaving a stunned, sober Staples Center. It was a jarring sight, a 19-year-old, full of talent and character and promise, lost for months now.

The Lakers are desperate for cornerstones with whom to count upon, and Randle offers no cause for comfort. The franchise has so much invested in Randle, a 6-foot-9 forward with shooting skill and rebounding strength. The Lakers forfeited first-round picks in 2013 and '15 in the Steve Nash trade debacle – as well as two more second-round picks – and that only makes the need for Randle’s development so much more significant.