Byron Scott is not going to start rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell in the Los Angeles Lakers’ first game of the second half versus the San Antonio Spurs Friday.
According to Los Angeles Lakers beat writer for the Los Angeles Times Mike Bresnahan, Lakers head coach Byron Scott is not going to start rookie point guard and No. 2 overall draft pick of the 2015 NBA Draft D’Angelo Russell in the Lakers’ first game post NBA All-Star break versus the San Antonio Spurs Friday.
Scott reportedly wants to give more consideration before thinking about putting one of the team’s most intriguing prospects back into the starting lineup. This 2015-16 NBA season for the Lakers is starting to get ridiculous with all the Kobe Bryant pandering and the persistent nightly effort for Scott to not want to see his young corps improve.
Although the Lakers have incentive to tank this season since they would forfeit their first round pick in the 2016 NBA Draft to the division rival Phoenix Suns as it is only Top 3 protected, the Lakers have the worst record in the Western Conference and the second worst in the NBA behind the Philadelphia 76ers. The Lakers are 11-44.
Unless Scott is being given a directive by the Lakers front office to intentionally lose and celebrate Kobe, then it makes almost no sense to not start its No. 2 overall draft pick. Russell is still a kid with plenty of potential to grow, but Scott’s refusal to give him an opportunity to shine is borderline unprecedented.
What other time in NBA history has a head coach been this reluctant to treat his team’s lottery pick with any sort of respect? Russell didn’t leave Ohio State after one year to ride pine in Los Angeles to worship Kobe and hear the antiquated ramblings of a head coach in Scott that is losing credibility by the game.
As long as Scott remains the head coach of the Lakers, no self-respecting free agent will want to sniff at playing in the Purple and Gold, even after the Year of Kobe comes to an end in mid-April. Russell would be playing 40 minutes in Philadelphia, so why can’t he start for the equally awful Lakers?