Report: Randle agrees to 2-year, $18M deal with Pelicans

Julius Randle is moving from Hollywood to the Big Easy.

After having his rights renounced by the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, the 23-year-old big man has agreed to join the New Orleans Pelicans for their midlevel exception on a two-year deal worth $18 million, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Randle's contract includes a player option for the second year.

Pelicans star Anthony Davis reportedly played a huge role in this deal getting closed, as he actively recruited Randle to get him on the team.

The Lakers opened up $12.5 million in cap room by renouncing Randle's rights, which was then used in part to sign former Pelicans point guard Rajon Rondo to a one-year, $9-million contract.

The move was beneficial to both Los Angeles and Randle in the end, as Randle had reportedly asked management to renounce him once it became clear that his role on the roster would likely diminish with all of the incoming pieces, multiple sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.

How this affects New Orleans' chances of re-signing DeMarcus Cousins remains to be seen. The team is reportedly "working through the details" of how bringing Randle aboard will impact Cousins' future.

Randle split his minutes in 2017-18 right down the middle at both power forward and center, averaging a career-best 16.1 points on 55.8 percent shooting from the field. He also contributed eight boards and 2.6 assists while appearing in all 82 games for the 35-win Lakers.