Los Angeles Lakers Coach Byron Scott Says Julius Randle Is Immature
Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott has added another interesting chapter to his feud against Julius Randle by saying that his young forward needs to grow up, according to ESPN.
During his rookie year, Julius Randle went down with a season ending injury in just his first game in the NBA. Los Angeles Lakers fans have waited until this season to watch him.
With D’Angelo Russell being drafted with the fourth overall pick and Kobe Bryant making his return from an injury, Los Angeles Lakers fans were rightfully excited about this season.
Things started going downhill pretty quickly when Kobe Bryant realized that Father Time decided to rob him of his athletic gifts and announced his retirement at the end of the season.
To make things worse for battered Los Angeles Lakers fans, both D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle were benched by Byron Scott and replaced with Lou Williams and Larry Nance, Jr.
D’Angelo Russell has corrected a lot of the things that Bryon Scott was not pleased with, and there are rumors that the 19-year-old is close to regaining his spot in the starting lineup.
The sun isn’t shining as bright for Julius Randle. The former Kentucky Wildcats star is still butting heads with Byron Scott, and the issues do not appear to be ending anytime soon.
Julius Randle was obviously not happy about minutes being taken from him, and he was visibly upset. In past games, he has silently steamed when the media asked about him being benched.
According to Byron Scott, the 6-foot-9-inch forward simply has not been doing his part on the defensive end of the court. Scott feels that Julius Randle cares solely about scoring points.
Knowing that he might say something wrong, Julius Randle opted to avoid speaking with the media after the game against the Phoenix Suns. His silence speaks volume, however.
The media did get a chance to speak with Julius Randle after he finished up the routine team practice on Monday. Reporters wanted to know about his blowup with Byron Scott.
In a sign that a resolution might not be near, Julius Randle stated that he felt Byron Scott was singling him out because the entire team didn’t play defense against the Phoenix Suns.
If a resolution between Julius Randle and Byron Scott can’t be found before the end of January, then Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak might need to start working the phones.
An interesting option that’s been discussed by the media is for the Los Angeles Lakers to dangle Julius Randle in hopes of convincing the Sacramento Kings to trade DeMarcus Cousins.
Even though he is a bit happier now that Rajon Rondo is around, DeMarcus Cousins might not be completely committed to staying with the Sacramento Kings for the long haul.
Julius Randle is not as good as DeMarcus Cousins yet, and the trade would be a short-term step backwards for the Sacramento Kings, but it could end up being rather fruitful several years down the line.
In less than half an NBA season, Julius Randle has shown that he has the potential to become a consistent 20 points and 10 rebounds a game type of player, which makes him a potential big star.
The Los Angeles Lakers need to do something with Julius Randle soon.
[Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images]
