Julius Randle’s new body has helped him in training camp

It didn’t take long for Julius Randle to get used to saying “my wife.” She made sure of that after the couple, who had been together since college, got married in August.

Kendra Randle was a big part of her now-husband’s physical transformation this summer. She cooked four meals a day for him, changing his eating habits, and the results were dramatic.

“Credit to my wife. She did a great job,” Randle said. “Every time I had a workout and I came back home, she had everything ready for me so I wasn’t out looking for food and that’s when you make bad decisions.”

Randle is entering the last year of his contract with the Lakers and has said he’d like to return. While he lets the Lakers’ front office and his agent handle that, he’s focusing on what’s ahead of him now. He has been impressive in practices, and others have noticed his improved conditioning.

“You can tell Julius is in shape this year,” Lakers veteran Corey Brewer said. “He’s in a lot better shape. He’s moving a lot better. … Defensively, when you’re in shape, you can move, you can stay in front of guys. When you’re not in shape, guys can go by you. It can help us a lot. Defense starts the break. If we play good enough defense and get some deflections, our breaks are going to be that much better and teams are going to have a tough time with us.”

Randle wasn’t the only Laker asked to work on his body over the summer. The team made that suggestion to all players and has liked the results.

“I feel great, just light on my feet,” Randle said. “[I] try to move around, play with energy and pace. Just being active, I try to be active for long stretches of time. … [I] cover more ground. I’m in better shape. I see things before they happen. Fatigue makes a coward of us all.”