Here we go
According to Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott, benching the cornerstones of the Lakers future is the wise thing to do right now (go, figure). According to Byron Scott:
“They’re both really young and they still have a long way to go, they have a lot of work to do,” Scott said. “This change wasn’t so much based on them not performing up to their capabilities, it is based on where we are as a team and that’s why I made this adjustment tonight. We’re 3-17 so obviously it’s not working so I wanted to get some new blood in there, some fresh blood and see how those guys play. Five, 10 games from now there might be another change.”
“I don’t think they were happy about it,” Scott said. “They didn’t say anything to me about it, but I don’t think they were happy and I hope they’re not. I hope that when they get their chance to play, [they] come out with a lot of energy and aggressiveness and just play better basketball.”
This all too interesting considering neither of these players seen the bench in a long time, like a long time. According to Julius Randle, he stated:
“I’ve never been in this position, so I don’t know how it’s going to affect myself.” Also he states, “But I ain’t expect it to happen like that. So if I was the problem or if I was the change that needed to happen to better the team, then I guess it was worth it.”
D’Angelo Russell also added his two cents and stated:
“Once in a while, but not really,” Russell said. “Everybody has a story at the end of the day as far as what they’ve been through to get to where they want to be or where they’re at at that point. Hopefully I can look back at this and laugh at it.”
Considering the future and what the Lakers front office has in place, this type of demotion could hinder the confidence of these young players instead of helping them especially when they lose minutes playing next to Kobe. Byron Scott made the target on his back even bigger, but he for once, he could be making a good case.
