LA Lakers 2015: Kobe Bryant pretty impressed with 'mature' Julius Randle

[photo: YouTube Screen Capture/NBA]

Julius Randle is entering his second year in the league, although in the eyes of many, it seems like he is just in his rookie year.

Randle was the top pick of the Los Angeles Lakers last year, but Randle played only a total of 14 minutes for the 2014–15 NBA season after incurring a season-ending injury (broken leg). If you missed that, you can check out the video below.

It has almost been a year after that and Randle will once again try to strut his wares with the rebuilding Los Angeles Lakers. There were concerns on his maturity for the game, something that Randle showed last season until early this year.

But if his style of play is any indication, it looks like Randle has added that maturity factor to his game, and Kobe Bryant and head coach Byron Scott are smiling.

"He can do everything," Kobe Bryant said, via NBA.com. "He can rebound, post, push the ball, pass."

As far as Byron Scott is concerned:

"I'm just very happy with the way he's playing," Lakers coach Byron Scott said of Randle. "He's competing. He's getting a lot of things right that we talked about on both ends of the floor. And he's a worker, and he's worked hard to get to this point. I think he has a lot of ability to do a lot of things on the basketball court. We're starting to see some of those things come to light."

Randle's showing is, of course, a positive sign as the Lakers look to their new and young stars to try and help out the ballclub from two dismal seasons.

With Kobe Bryant nearing the end of his playing career, Randle along with Jordan Clarkson and D'Angelo Russell are considered the new pillars of the Lakers' franchise.

Hopefully, it will show starting this season, which will open near the end of October.