When If the Los Angeles Lakers fire Byron Scott this offseason, D'Angelo Russell would probably be the first one on the team to happily bid farewell to him.
After becoming a backup player for the first time in his career this season, Russell didn't even discuss the decision with Scott because, according to the Lakers head coach, "It's a big boys league." Back in December, Byron ripped all of his players not named Kobe Bryant for playing scared and D'Angelo fired back with a criticism of his own, directed towards Scott.
On Tuesday, Scott benched Russell with the Lakers down by two and 2:31 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Lakers rookie was never put back in the game. Why? "I saw the last couple minutes that he was in that he was really trying to take over the game, and that's not him yet," Scott said. "I want the ball to move a little bit. I thought it stuck with him. He tried to make the big shots and things like that. I understand that, but to me, that's not him right now."
Wait, what? Was Scott watching the game when Russell single-handedly brought the Lakers back against the Sacramento Kings? Plus, it's not like the Lakers are trying to get a playoff spot. They're 9-38. It's not like they're competing for someth—ah, we see you, Byron!
Keep on tanking, Scott. Keep on tanking.
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[via ESPN]
