The Los Angeles Lakers enter the second half of the season with development the top priority. When Kobe Bryant retires, the Lakers will be leaning on the youth of their team. D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle are expected to lead the team in the coming years while an established star or two get added to the roster. That development has been put into question this past few weeks leaving head coach Byron Scott to defend himself.
The Lakers come out of the All-Star break with a game against the San Antonio Spurs. According to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, Russell will not be starting for that game. Bresnahan reports the Lakers are moving forward with Lou Williams in the role while Clarkson gets more time as well. This has been a common occurrence for Russell who has either been benched for the start of games or benched for the final quarter of games. Scott made it clear that the point guard still needs time to develop before he can return to the starting lineup again. According to Scott, Russell needs to be more like Kyrie Irving was as a rookie.
"He was a little bit more business-like at practice and games," Scott said, via Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. "D'Angelo still has a playfulness about him. Sometimes in practice he's joking around and losing a little bit of focus."
Scott has told the media earlier in the year that he is hopeful Clarkson and Russell can be the team's leading backcourt for years to come. Clarkson has been working to hold up his end of that plan while Russell will take more time. Until then, Williams gets the nod after avoiding being moved at the trade deadline. According to Michael Pina of Bleacher Report, several teams were eyeing Williams at the deadline, but the Lakers held off.
The guard is putting up one of his better seasons after signing with the Lakers in the offseason. He is averaging 15.4 points per game while being a bargain at $14 million over the next two seasons. It is unclear if Williams is a long-term option for the Lakers or merely someone to help get them through the year, but for now the team will utilize his numbers to win games.
