On Monday, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott shook up the starting lineup, moving rookie guard D'Angelo Russell and second-year forward Julius Randle to the bench and promoting Lou Williams and rookie Larry Nance, Jr. After hearing about the changes, Russell and Randle expressed their frustration and confusion about the decision with the media.
Meanwhile, Scott told reporters that the goal of the alteration was to add more energy to the starting five. And while that sounds like a decent, albeit weird, approach, there's one problem with the way he has gone about the whole situation. According to L.A. Daily News beat reporter Mark Medina, Byron hasn't spoken with either Russell or Randle about their benching.
Scott is handling this whole thing the wrong way. Even if you agree with the "It's a big boys league" approach, Byron is the same coach who gave Kobe Bryant a day off this season because he was "really angry." There's a lot of tension in the organization, especially on the heels of Russell telling the media, "I'm really trying to show myself and my teammates that I belong out there, not the coach."
What's the over/under on Scott being the Lakers' coach by the end of the season? Because, we'll take the under.
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com
[via @MarkG_Medina]
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