Rookie D’Angelo Russell won’t start immediately following the All-Star break, but the younger players will see more minutes
Through all of the issues that the Los Angeles Lakers have had through the first 55 games of the 2015-16 season, the most problematic of them is how Byron Scott has handled rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell. He’s consistently not let him finish games, pulled him from the starting lineup, and limited his minutes overall. However, there was reason to hope that might turn around after the All-Star break.
Unfortunately for Lakers fans, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Speaking after the team’s first practice out of the break, Scott said that Russell won’t be in the starting lineup on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs, saying that he needs more time to think about when he’s going to put him back in with the starters:
D'Angelo Russell will not be in starting lineup Friday against SA. Byron wants more time to think about when to put him back with starters.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) February 17, 2016
Has there ever been a more asinine statement in the history of the NBA? Seriously. What is there that Byron has to keep thinking about here? The team has won 11 out of their first 55 games of the season and that’s likely not going to improve even if the trade deadline holds massive roster changes. There is absolutely no reason for Scott to further debilitate the franchise by not putting a 19-year-old rookie with a ton of talent in a better position to succeed going forward.
If there’s any good news to come out of this, it’s that Byron did say that he expects the younger players, Russell included, to see more minutes in the rotation coming out of the All-Star break:
Byron Scott says he expects the younger players to get a bit more playing time in this last 1/3 of the season.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) February 17, 2016
However, that only means so much for a player like Russell. Lakers fans have seen countless times this season where the rookie has played 30-or-so minutes in a game, but the bulk of those minutes have been shared with ball-stoppers on the wings like Lou Williams, Kobe Bryant, and Nick Young. Even if his minutes increase, if he’s not on the floor with players who can help him play to his strengths, nothing is accomplished.
Next: Lakers Trade Rumors: No Deals Expected As of Now
Scott’s future is reportedly still being debated on in the Lakers front office and he is assumedly still under a performance review until season’s end. Though I’m not a member of the front office, decisions like this don’t do anything positive for the head coach’s job security beyond this year.