Earlier this season, Los Angeles Lakers power forward Julius Randle was demoted to Luke Walton’s bench.Boy, that seems like a long, long time ago.Over the course of the season, Randle has earned more and more playing time and now finds himself in a major role in Los Angeles' starting lineup. Averaging 15.6 points and 7.6 rebounds in just 25.8 minutes per contest overall this season, the 23-year-old standout’s numbers have been incredible lately.In the month of February, he averaged 19.4 points, 9.0 boards and 4.3 assists with an uptick of 31.9 minutes per contest.So far in March, he has been even more dominant, putting up 23.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 33.9 minutes.Slated to be a restricted free agent if the Lakers extend him a qualifying offer this summer, Randle is likely to receive a lot of interest and could even receive a max offer if the market warrants it. He could also become an unrestricted free agent if the Lakers rescind his cap hit in an effort to sign two other max-deal players.Walton knows that he will be in demand."I haven't talked to a lot of other coaches about him, but what he's doing right now, he has to be on everyone's radar," Lakers coach Luke Walton said, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. "He's playing unbelievable basketball. He's a matchup nightmare for teams; he's versatile. This is just me guessing, but I would imagine most teams are pretty impressed with what he's doing.”The coach also revealed that he had a conversation with Randle regarding his contract situation earlier in the year."You didn't get an extension, go prove to us that we were wrong," Walton added. "It is not that we don't want you. That is not it at all. Play with that chip on your shoulder. So it was more along the lines of using anything that happens in life, whether it is the contract extension or people who don't believe, use that as motivation to become better.”It’s clear that with an uptick in minutes, Randle is showing exactly what type of player he can be on a nightly basis. As a result, he might have forced himself into Los Angeles’ future plans. That seems to be exactly where he wants to stay, too.

"It would be tough to say no to L.A., honestly," Randle said when asked how much he wants to remain a Laker. "It is the place that drafted me. I would love to be here. I have to do what is best for the family and hopefully they want me here as well.”

Since the team is rumored to be in the mix for some of the big names that will presumably be available, like LeBron James and Paul George, Randle added that he wouldn’t mind playing alongside someone like LeBron for a specific reason.

"It would definitely be interesting because we are building something. We really see our young core developing, so it would definitely be something interesting," Randle explained. "I played with [Kobe Bryant]. ... What you learn from Bean as far as mentality and just the little things, his work ethic, I would love to play with Bron and learn the same things.”

Therefore, he’d be more than happy to learn from James, even if his individual numbers would undoubtedly take a bit of a dip. 

"[Learning and soaking in] what makes him so great, what does he do that makes him so great and how does he make everybody else so great. He has made a living off of making teammates better. So you have a guy like that, it makes a lot of things easier, I would say," the former University of Kentucky standout noted.

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It remains to be seen if the Lakers decide to include Randle in their future plans. If they don’t, they run the risk of losing a potential season-long 20-point, 10-rebound producer while receiving nothing in return.