Byron Scott has not asked Kobe Bryant to give young players more opportunities

Byron Scott recently benched the Los Angeles Lakers' two most recent lottery picks, D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle, partially because he wanted them to be able to play more minutes without Kobe Bryant. In addition to the benching, Scott only played the pair 21 minutes against the Toronto Raptors. Russell told reporters after the game that he thought there were more opportunities for him and Randle without Bryant as the 19-year veteran continues to use up 30% of the Lakers possessions while on the floor.

After the Lakers' loss to Toronto on Monday night in the first game of Scott's latest lineup experiment, many (including your' truly) suggested that rather than benching the two youngsters, Scott should have asked Bryant to curtail his usage, currently 11th in the league among players averaging more than 12 minutes per game. Scott was asked about this possibility before the Lakers' Wednesday night contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and told reporters he had not considered doing so:

Byron said he hasn't talked to Kobe about doing less to help young guys. Byron said maybe later on in the season

— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 9, 2015

It's not surprising that Scott would not have asked Bryant to ease back on the gas at all, given that he earlier this season said Bryant had earned the right to shoot as much as he wants. It's not only Kobe that Scott has not been talking to, as earlier on Wednesday Scott said that he had not spoken with Russell and Randle about the rotation change, excusing that by calling the NBA "a big boys league." This season just keeps getting more and more interesting.