The man who isn’t there
Lakers forward Nick Young was not activated for Sunday’s game against Boston. The reason was fairly straightforward.
“Right now he’s not here with us mentally and there’s no need for me to put him out there on the f loor as well,” Lakers Coach Byron Scott said Monday.
Young was directly involved in the Lakers’ latest firestorm. Teammate D’Angelo Russell secretly recorded him talking about women who were not his fiancee in a video shot earlier this year and leaked to a gossip site last week.
Young, 30, has not spoken to reporters since issuing a brief statement last Wednesday.
“What happened is what happened. We’ve got to work on it,” Young said at the time. He did not field any questions.
Earlier that day, his fiancee, rapper Iggy Azalea, tweeted, “hmm i see D Angelo Russell is trending [ on Twitter] ... I actually liked his film. Thanks bro.”
It was unclear Monday where Young’s relationship with Azalea stood.
Young has two more years and $ 11.1 million on his Lakers contract. The team tried to trade him earlier this season and is expected to try it again after this season.
Young was struggling even before last week’s saga, averaging 7.3 points and shooting 33.9%, the lowest numbers of his nine- year career.
He sat out 10 consecutive games before Sunday, eight because of ineffective play and two because of illness, according to the team.
“This is probably the icing on the cake,” Scott said. “He didn’t get off to a great start [ this season]. His shooting’s not what it has been in the past. Then obviously the situation last week didn’t help. I think we all — coaches, players, everybody — feel for him and we understand the situation he’s in.”
Young was not on the bench for Sunday’s 107- 100 loss to Boston but was in the Lakers’ locker room, Scott said.
Russell has apologized to Young and has been contrite publicly. Veterans sidelined
Veterans Brandon Bass and Lou Williams are unlikely to play the rest of the season because Scott wants younger players to get more minutes.
Center Tarik Black will get more time off the bench and starters Russell and Jordan Clarkson will each log about 35 minutes a game, Scott said.
Russell and Clarkson struggled Sunday against Boston, combining for 25 points on 10- for- 30 shooting, one fewer point than Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas.
Williams, 29, is under contract for two more years and $ 14 million. Bass, 30, is expected to decline a player option for $ 3.1 million and become a free agent this summer. Advantage Clippers?
Los Angeles is still a Lakers town, Scott likes to say whenever his team plays the Clippers, pointing to the Lakers’ decisive 16- 0 edge in championships.
“I don’t have to answer that question anymore,” Scott said Monday. “You [ media] guys know my feeling on that.”
For what it’s worth, the Clippers have won nine consecutive games against the Lakers and the teams play each other Tuesday and Wednesday at Staples Center.
Scott granted some concessions when pressed.
“I’m not going to sit here and say we’re a better basketball team than they are. They’re the better team,” Scott said. “There’s no doubt about that right now.”
Scott then listed what the Lakers had to do to win: Keep Chris Paul in check, stop DeAndre Jordan from getting a ton of rebounds, control the Clippers’ running game, make them take contested shots and force them to play defense by running efficient plays on offense. That’s all.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of Tuesday’s game will come before tipoff.
The Clippers, the designated home team, plan a “small tribute” to Kobe Bryant but details were not available. During Bryant’s goodbye tour, most teams have given him a gift and a tribute video on their scoreboard.
Bryant spurned the Clippers in free agency in 2004, choosing to stay with the Lakers after an 11th- hour conversation with former Lakers owner Jerry Buss.