The Lakers are off to an 0-4 start to the season, and in the eye of the impending storm is Kobe Bryant’s excessively poor play. Head coach Byron Scott’s analysis of his team’s defense after their latest loss to the Denver Nuggets was that “they sucked”.
In the same breath as Kobe’s blatant struggles lies the question of how much the Lakers crop of youth is being allowed to flourish — Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, and D’Angelo Russell, the no. 2 overall draft pick who was benched by Scott during the fourth quarter against Denver. Scott talked with ESPN’s Baxter Holmes about prioritizing development and winning:
That is the reality. But the second part of that goal is you’ve still got to develop the young core of guys that you have. That’s my job, to try to win basketball games and in the meantime try to develop young people.
I’m not always thinking about necessarily developing them. I’m always thinking about trying to win. I’m always thinking about trying to win. The development part comes secondary to that, but in practice and everything is where you really work on the development part.
At some level you do have to understand that mentality. For the record, Scott chose to play Lou Williams over Russell in that fourth quarter. Williams scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth. Scott simply made his decision based on who he felt was playing better at the time, and as he told Holmes, Russell is still proving himself:
I think he knows that he has to earn minutes, especially [late] in games when they’re on the line. If Lou wasn’t playing well, I would’ve brought [Russell] back in. It’s more with me, who’s playing well at that particular time?
Just keep playing. Cut down the mistakes. Continue to run the offense. Do a better job on the defensive end. All the little things.
Especially as a guard, the learning curve for 19-year-old D’Angelo Russell is steep. He certainly has to earn his keep, but his current development is also important for the Lakers’ future plans. Either way, if the Lakers don’t start actually winning games, then Scott’s priorities become irrelevant.
