Byron Scott still feels Julius Randle is too raw to see starters minutes on a consistent basis.
The Lakers are in an awkward stage of rebuilding and saying farewell to one of the best players to ever don their purple and gold jerseys, which has resulted in some questionable personnel decisions from head coach Byron Scott.
But there's one decision in particular that's been under scrutiny recently, and that's the benching of power forward Julius Randle. Despite being the No. 7 overall pick in 2014 and representing one of the key cogs in Los Angeles' future, Scott remains adamant that Randle isn't ready.
“He’s a rookie to me,” Scott said via the Los Angeles Daily News , noting that Randle only played one game last season before breaking his right leg. “He still has to play basketball the right way, with swinging the ball, setting screens, rolling to the basket, running on the break and getting back in transition. He has to master all those little things to be good in this league.”
Yet, so far, Randle seems unperturbed by his recent benching.
“I don’t make decisions with playing time,” Randle said. “The thing that I always tell you guys is I control what I can, and I go out there and play hard. I let our coaches decide who’s in and who’s not.”
Randle, who's averaging 12.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game this season, isn't the only top-10 pick to recently get forced out of the starting lineup. This year's second-overall pick, D'Angelo Russell, who's averaging 11.9 points per game, relinquished his starting spot to Lou Williams, last season's Sixth Man of the Year.
Eventually, Scott is going to have to show more faith and trust in his talented younger players as the Lakers drift further out of the playoff race and start assessing their needs for next season.