NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets forward Julius Randle is still very early in his tenure with the Nets and from the beginning, it's clear that head coach Jordi Fernandez will be relying on him. Brooklyn brought Randle in this offseason in a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves with the goal of improving the roster and he explained how he felt about his role at this point in the preseason.
"I'm excited. man. When I go back home and talk to my friends and family and they ask me how I'm feeling, I'm just really excited," Randle said prior to Thursday's 114-108 preseason win over LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers. Randle played 22 minutes in the contest, most of which was in the first half, and he finished the game with 14 points, six rebounds, and two
steals while guarding players like James for the majority of the first half.
"I said earlier when you guys asked me, but he's [Fernandez] just really diversified the way that I can attack the game," Randle continued. "It's not so one-dimensional or doing these two certain things, he puts me all over the floor on the offensive end, puts me in various different actions, which is really exciting. Defensively, I feel like it plays to my strengths. My ability to guard one through five and switch, [the coaching staff] really have simplified that for us.
What made Thursday's game interesting for Randle and the rest of the team was the fact that projected starters in forward Michael Porter Jr. (wrist) and center Day'Ron Sharpe (shoulder) did not play. That meant that Randle and other players would have to pick up the offensive slack, something that he is used to doing, especially after his stops with the New York Knicks and Timberwolves.
Once the Nets open the regular season on Oct. 21 in a home matchup against the Charlotte Hornets, Randle should be able to share the offensive burden with Porter and others. However, with the way that Randle is being used on both ends of the court, it seems that he is enjoying building chemistry with his teammates and is willing to do what Fernandez and the coaching staff asks of him moving forward.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Julius Randle discusses role on team early in the NBA preseason
