The head coach has maintained his old-school reputation as a more aggressive coach toward younger players as losses continue to mount, but he doesn’t buy into the notion he’s employing “tough love,” per Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com:
Scott called out Julius Randle’s immaturity last month, saying the second-year forward has “got to grow up,” per Holmes, and once pegged rookie D’Angelo Russell’s playing style as “young and dumb,” per Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
The second-year head coach benched both in December in what was a highly questionable move at the time after the team’s 3-17 start, yet Scott has held the support of general manager Mitch Kupchak throughout.
"Every coach chooses to bring along young players differently," Kupchak said, per Bresnahan. "Some coaches will not play rookies at all. Some will give them more leeway than others. They're young players and they're playing big minutes."
The Lakers, with the West’s worst record at 11-44, made no trades before Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline and will ride out the rest of the 2015-16 rut with their current corps.
But Scott plans to utilize the opportunity to give younger players such as Jordan Clarkson and Russell more time to continue their development as they prepare to become the team leaders once Bryant is gone.
“There’s gonna be some young guys that I’m probably gonna up their playing time a little bit more,” Scott said Wednesday, per Joey Ramirez of the Lakers' website on NBA.com, referring to Clark...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
