The battle of words between the Lakers' current head coach and the team's future building blocks continues.
Both Lakers coach Byron Scott and 2014 lottery pick Julius Randle used the media Monday to air their grievances.
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Scott called out Randle for his effort on defense against the Suns on Sunday and told reporters after Monday's practice the 21-year-old "needs to grow up."
"I think the main thing I don't like is, when you take him out of a game, how he acts sometimes,” Scott said via ESPN. "But again, I chalk it up to immaturity and just being inexperienced at this level because it's going to happen again. I'm going to take him out of other games that he's not going to like."
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Randle, the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, disagreed with his coach's assessment.
"I don't think there was defense on the court at all in the fourth quarter, and he singled me out," Randle said. "I think it was a team thing."
This isn’t the first time Scott has called out one of his team’s budding young stars. He’s also been critical of rookie guard D’Angelo Russell this season. Scott moved both players out of the starting lineup a few weeks into the season, and relations have been tense since.
"You can't be frustrated all the time. You can't be happy all the time," Randle said. "Basketball is a game of ups and downs, emotions. Biggest thing is, you control your effort, how hard you play. You control getting better. That's what I will continue to do."