The writing on the wall for most of the 2017-18 Los Angeles Lakers season seemed to indicate that Julius Randle wasn’t long for the team. Randle wanted to prove he was worth a long-term deal, and the Lakers talked up the virtues of cap flexibility to sign stars, and eventually the two sides went their separate ways ways when the Lakers rescinded the qualifying offer to Randle — making him an unrestricted free agent — allowing him to sign a two-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has since confirmed that the Lakers let Randle go in order to keep cap space open long-term, and the tone of one of Randle’s comments during his introductory press conference in New Orleans would seem to indicate that he took that decision personally.