Lakers: Midseason Grades for Each Player

B is for Byron, you’ve really screwed this up.

Just about every way that the Lakers could have mishandled the rookie season of D’Angelo Russell, they have managed to do so. It started in the offseason when the front office mad the boneheaded decision to overload the backcourt and essentially create a traffic jam in that rotation.

However, Byron’s mismanagement regarding Russell has been the most egregious error regarding the rookie. It was evident from Jump Street that this was going to be an issue when Scott refused to give the rookie burn late in games by allowing him to close out games. Byron then poured salt on that wound by moving Russell to the bench with Randle early in the year in favor of starting Lou Williams. While I maintain that moving him to the bench may not have been the worst decision in the right context, Byron’s motives weren’t in the right as the demotion came with a decreased role for the rookie point guard.

With all of the poor decision-making around him that Russell has had to endure, it’s actually a bit remarkable that the 19-year-old has had the moments of success that he has. Make no mistake, he has plenty of room to grow before he’s a star in this league, but how he’s been treated by Scott this season in terms of his role and how he’s still managed to show flashes in spite of that leaves him with a favorable grade.

Next: Robert Sacre