After Russell, Randle was taken out of the game and removed from the starting lineup
Scott: Randle has to ‘grow up’ — As a team, the Los Angeles Lakers’ average age is 27.5 years old. There are some veterans on the team — such as Roy Hibbert, Louis Williams, Kobe Bryant and others — but by and large the Lakers are a young bunch. Power forward Julius Randle falls into that category (he’s just 21, mind you) and is learning the ins and outs of the NBA game in his second season (and first full one overall). He was miffed the other night after being pulled from a game against the Phoenix Suns, something his coach,Byron Scott had a pointed criticism about. ESPN.com’s Baxter Holmes has more:
After Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle was visibly upset at being taken out late in his team’s blowout win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, coach Byron Scott had a message for the team’s promising power forward.
“He’s got to grow up,” Scott said Monday after the Lakers’ practice at their facility. “Simple as that.”
Scott added, “I think the main thing I don’t like is, when you take him out of a game, how he acts sometimes. 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.”
Scott singled Randle out for playing poor defense in the Lakers’ 97-77 rout of the Suns, the Lakers’ third straight win. Randle left without speaking to reporters after the game.
“I don’t think there was defense on the court at all in the fourth quarter, and he singled me out,” Randle said Monday after practice. “I think it was a team thing.”
The back-and-forth marked another bump in what has at times been a rocky relationship between Scott and Randle, the former Kentucky standout and No. 7 pick in the 2014 NBA draft.
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Of all the players taken out late, Scott said Randle “took it probably the worst, and he’s going to have to learn from it.”
Randle was consoled on the Lakers’ bench by veteran swingman Metta World Peace.
“I was frustrated I wasn’t on the court. Simple,” said Randle, who finished with two points on 0-of-4 shooting in 16 minutes, the fewest he had played since Oct. 30.
Randle defended his play by saying, “It wasn’t like I was 0-for-25 or something. I took four shots. I still had 12 rebounds, still had three assists. I took what the defense gave me.”
Asked about Scott’s remark on his attitude, Randle said, “Regardless, basketball is an emotional sport. I’m going to feel some type of way about it. … I’m going to feel frustrated or happy or whatever it may be.”
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Along with rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Randle was removed from the starting lineup Dec. 7 after starting the team’s first 20 games. Larry Nance Jr. was promoted to starter in place of Randle and has thrived lately. He is averaging 11.6 points and 10.4 rebounds in his past five games.
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Nance said he is rooting for Randle as much as anyone.
“I want him to be an All-Star,” Nance said. “I want everybody on this team to be the best they can be. So if I come out and he has a double-double, awesome. If he comes out and I have a double-double, awesome. Either way, I’m just trying to win. If he gives us the best chance to win, play him. If I give us the best chance to win, play me. I think, personally, we’re a pretty cool duo, like a tag team. Tag me out and tag him in, and let’s go.”
Asked whether he is trying to regain his role as a starter, Randle said, “It’s not my decision. I don’t make those decisions.”
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