Lakers leadership continues to operate in backwards ways.
More than a month after Los Angeles general manager Mitch Kupchak declared that 2015-16 was all about sending off superstar Kobe Bryant into retirement, coach Byron Scott declared that the priority for the Western Conference's last-place team is to garner wins, according to NBC Los Angeles' Shahan Ahmed.
Lakers Coach Byron Scott Embraces Kobe Bryant's Ball-Hog Mentality
Byron Scott "No. 1 task is still win games. No. 2 task is to develop our young guys. In that order."#Lakers
— Shahan Ahmed (@shahanLA) February 19, 2016
Causing one person to respond, "But... He does neither."
The Lakers, 11-45 and Bryant suffering a dislocated finger against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night, must land one of the top three picks in the 2016 NBA draft to retain that pick. Otherwise, the pick goes to Philadelphia as part of the Lakers deal to acquire Steve Nash from Phoenix in 2012.
Mitch Kupchak Makes Foolish Proclamation That Lakers 2015-16 Season About Kobe Before Anything Else
The Suns later gave that pick to the 76ers in a three-team trade.
Philadelphia had the worst record in the league at 8-46 with the Lakers two games better. The Suns were 3 1/2 games ahead of Los Angeles at 14-41; the Brooklyn Nets were 4 ½ games ahead of the Lakers at 15-40.
To be fair, Scott's message has not changed from the beginning of the season, when he was taking criticism for allowing a struggling Bryant to continue to hoist shots at the expense of developing young players D'Angelo Russell, Larry Nance, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle.
"First of all, he's had 20 years of experience in this league," Scott said of Bryant in November. "We might not have six players that have 20 years in this league combined. He has that privilege, basically.
"From a coaching standpoint, I want Kobe to be Kobe. Other guys haven't earned that right, yet. We're going to keep talking about that on the offensive end as far as moving the ball, moving our bodies and sharing the ball and being a little bit more unselfish as a basketball team, cuz I don't think we're doing it maliciously. I think guys want to win and want to do the right things, but they just don't know how to go about it."
The Lakers never did figure out a consistently winning combination, but Scott's job is on the line, putting wins at a premium, as lakersnation.com reported.
But from the start of 2015-16, the Lakers' top priority should've been player development, and that should trump wins now, especially if wins will cost the Lakers their 2016 draft pick and further stalling ther rebuilding efforts.
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