Julius Randle eyes Lakers Summer League return, focused on training camp

Julius Randle said that he is aiming to return to the court by training camp during his exit interview Tuesday. Randle also said that his "short-term goal is summer league", but he understands that training camp may be a more realistic target date.

Randle's rookie year was cut short after less than 14 minutes of court time, but it was not a completely lost year, according to the rookie he "learned a lot. How to be a pro, what it means to be a Laker, work ethic-wise."

Randle also received some aid in his rehabilitation efforts from a somewhat unexpected source: Indiana Pacers forward Paul George. George, who infamously broke his leg in gruesome fashion during a Team USA scrimmage over the summer, shares an agent with Randle and the two have kept in contact since an arranged meeting when George's Pacers visited Staples Center for a game against the Lakers in January. Since then, the two have stayed in "close contact" and George has been "very encouraging" to Randle, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.

Throughout all of his unfortunate season, Randle has seemed to take his bad luck in stride, from listening to veterans like George, Kobe Bryant, and Steve Nash, to writing scouring reports for Mitch Kupchak. Hopefully Randle can take everything he has learned this season and apply it to a triumphant return to the court next year.