D’Angelo Russell Will Start For Remainder Of This Season For Los Angeles Lakers

Per Baxter Holmes of ESPN, Byron Scott has decided to promote D’Angelo Russell to the starting lineup.

Not a bad move for the rookie, if you ask me.

As Baxter Holmes reports, Byron Scott seems to be finally coming to terms with the fact that he’ll have to get comfortable with D’Angelo Russell — and it’s better for that to happen sooner than later.

With 25 games left, the Lakers season is all but a lost cause at this point.

It’s hard to say that kind of thing about a legendary franchise, but that’s just the way things work.

Scott is quoted as saying that “it was just time” when asked about the scenario — Russell was benched after going a quarter of the season in the starting lineup.

As with any situation, Twitter had a field day when the news broke tonight, with mixed feelings and reactions to the latest regarding Russell:

Then, here’s what D’Angelo Russell’s reported reaction was to everything, per Baxter Holmes:

While 25 games isn’t necessarily much left in the tank for this season, it’s the perfect place for Russell to really find himself on the court.

Aside from Russell, fellow youngster Julius Randle has blossomed in a starting role for Los Angeles, and the Lakers could really use all the good news they can get.

With the benching of Russell earlier in the year, head coach Byron Scott got plenty of criticism — most of which was well past due.

The criticism was brought back to life by this tweet:

Despite another bruising loss for the Lakers at the hands of the Bulls at the United Center in Chicago, the move to take Russell of the bench shows that the team is ready to at least toy with the idea of him being part of the long-term solution.

Kobe Bryant is on his way out, and chances are that it will be incredibly hard for the team to gather themselves, motivation wise, when he goes out for the last time.

The rookie made a good case for staying in the lineup with this move against the Bulls:

With the way the game is played in the NBA today, there’s no question that it’s only a matter of time before Russell lights it up night after night and begins to be the reason fans in Los Angeles still believe in the purple and gold.

Let’s not forget how Steph Curry‘s career started compared to the stardom he’s enjoying right now with the Golden State Warriors.

Why?

Because they put their trust in the process and it paid much more than just a dividend.

Russell is nowhere near a Lakers great, let alone rookie of the year, but in order for the Lakers to trust the system, they must take part in the full cycle.

And that means letting the kid play — period.