Los Angeles Lakers: Are They Intentionally Tanking?

Are the Los Angeles Lakers intentionally tanking, because it sure looks like it

The Los Angeles Lakers are, as of my typing this, 0-4. In other words, they’re terrible. The thing is, there were even Lakers fans that even thought that this team would be a competent this year, possibly even compete for a playoff spot.

But we forgot to consider one thing: the coach. Byron Scott.

Scott is hands-down the worst head coach in professional basketball. Although, is Byron Scott really this bad or does he get what it takes to lose?

The Los Angeles Lakers are so bad, and Scott is doing so bad, that we don’t even know the answer to this. His coaching methods defy conventional logic. Take D’Angelo Russell for example. He was the second pick of the 2015 NBA Draft and the guy that the Lakers should have drafted, Jahlil Okafor, is tearing it up in Philly.

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Russell, however, can’t even play in a 4th quarter. Conventional logic here would say that if you drafted a guy 2nd overall, are thinking that this kid can become a superstar (which Russell can be, to be fair), you should play him around 30 minutes per night.

Against the Denver Nuggets, Russell played 20 minutes. To put this in context, Lou Williams logged 33 minutes, most on the team. In order for a young player to develop he needs to play, it’s simple. Yet, Byron Scott can’t grasp this concept. He’d rather play Williams for 33 minutes, or keep Kobe Bryant out on the floor to airball more shots (as much as it pains to type that).

Now let’s take a look at Roy Hibbert. He’s been playing pretty well for LA so far, and against the Nuggets the Lakers defense looked horrendous, guess how much Hibbert played – 17 minutes. Seventeen. A guy that’s supposed to be your defensive anchor, and your starting center is playing less than Brandon Bass, the 8th guy off the bench. Not only that, but Scott loves this Ryan Kelly and Brandon Bass frontcourt, and my God it’s terrible.

So this leads me to think, are the Los Angeles Lakers tanking? Does the front office know that Scott is so bad that he’ll guide the Lakers to the first overall pick in the 2016 draft to grab Ben Simmons?

If you’re a Lakers fan, you hope this is the case. Even so, if the Lakers are tanking, they should be developing Russell, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle (wwho is playing really well, as is Clarkson), instead of preaching this “winning is more important than developing players” talk.

Scott needs to realize that this team is bad. There is no shot at the playoffs. Kobe Bryant’s legs are done. It’s over for this season. He needs to develop Russell, Clarkson, and Randle; prepare them to take the team over when the Mamba hangs up his fangs.

But what if the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t intentionally tanking? What if the Lakers actually think that Scott is the best coach for the team and that they think the players aren’t giving it their all? That’s the scariest thing a Lakers fan can think about.

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What’s even worse is the Lakers aren’t going to fire Scott, his connections with the team are too strong. You won’t see Magic Johnson grill his former teammate like he used to do Mike D’Antoni; you won’t hear James Worthy question Scott, you won’t see any of that. You won’t see the truth come out of LA.

Which is that Byron Scott is the worst possible option for the Los Angeles Lakers at the head coaching position.