This season for the Los Angeles Lakers has not been a very good one. For the most part the story of the Lakers' season has been the fact that it is Kobe Bryant's last before retiring and he has seemed mostly happy and nostalgic all year long. After the Lakers most recent loss though Kobe was not too happy with how the team played and he ripped into some of the players including D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle specifically, according to Mark Medina of Inside SoCal.
This confrontation reportedly happened in the locker room so there has been no confirmation as to whether it happened or if Randle and Russell were targeted specifically but someone close to the situaton says that was the case. None of the players have commented on these reports instead choosing to keep it in house, but they all seemed to be frustrated with the effort they put together.
Bryant was demonstrative during timeouts trying to get some of the issues fixed but it continued after the game. Bryant was reportedly not happy about some of his teammates smiling after the team had just gotten blownout. Combine that with the fact that the team just lost their sixth game in a row and a Bryant blowup shouldn't be too much of a surprise. Bryant is not used to losing as much as the Lakers have so far this season and he is one of the most competitive guys in the league so he doesn't take losing easily and he thinks guys shouldn't be happy when the team isn't doing well.
The majority of Bryant's locker room tirade was reportedly aimed at Russell and Randle for their lack of effort. Bryant called them out by name in the locker room and he clearly expects more from the two guys that are expected to be the future of this organization. Russell did score 21 points in 23 minutes in this game and Randle had a near double-double but it's on the defensive end where the effort is coming into question.
Bryant isn't the only person that is frustrated with the Lakers' young players though as head coach Byron Scott has been on them all year and has continued to make pointed comments. Most recently he said that the young players are struggling to learn some of the concepts he is trying to teach, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. These young players have a lot of talent and could have bright futures in the league but the last thing Lakers fans want to hear is their effort and ability to learn being questioned. This could just be Bryant venting his frustrations with losing in his final season and Scott trying to save his job but it is definitely something that is worth keeping an eye on moving forward.
