The Los Angeles Lakers are having another down season. They’re off to a rough 1-8 start, their lone win coming against an also 1-8 Brooklyn Nets squad. At this point in the season there is literally nothing for Lakers fans to be excited about.

The Lakers have had two lottery picks in the past two seasons. While both Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell seem to be promising players, head coach Byron Scott doesn’t have faith in Russell just quite yet. Russell has been benched for almost every fourth quarter thus far this season.

Scott doesn’t believe that Russell can perform in crunch time. Russell is averaging just 9 points and 2.6 assist in 24 minutes per game. In order for Russell to develop, he needs those minutes. The second pick of the first round of the draft shouldn’t be bench riding in clutch moments at all. But especially not on a 1-8 team.

This isn’t the only reason fans want Byron Scott gone. Laker Nation simply doesn’t believe in him anymore. The defense is playing like the worst in the league and he’s still allowing Kobe to walk all over him. Scott doesn’t have the team playing acceptable in any aspect. They are currently at the bottom of the league in rebounding, field goal percentage and even three-point percentage. At this point I only see the Lakers getting rid of him to go another direction. Or they might keep Scott at the head since he allows Kobe to run his own show.

Kobe is already resting. His legs are unquestionably shot. At this point in his career the explosion simply isn’t there anymore. But this isn’t a bad thing. The Lakers played well last season without Kobe. They may seem like a team of players that no other general manager wanted, but they can definitely compete with some teams in the league (mainly the Eastern Conference).

The Lakers are a historic franchise. But things haven’t been right in Laker-land since the front office chose Mike D’Antoni over arguably the best coach ever, Phil Jackson.  History has shown that the Lakers never stay down for too long. The ship is in good hands with young talent like Jordan Clarkson. One thing I have noticed over the years is that if a front office doesn’t have a good nucleus, the team can’t get anywhere. Just look at the Sacramento Kings. Years of bad draft picks and a multitude of coaches. (And another one might be coming.) Mitch Kupchak must make some magic happen.

If Kupchak can’t display some wizardry then the Lakers’ entire organization might implode. For teams to be successful in the NBA, they must have all of their staff on the same page, from top to bottom. Just ask the Spurs in San Antonio. Owners Jim and Jeanie Buss even understand that time is running out on their rebuilding process. I still think most of the heavy burden is on Kupchak. If he doesn’t plan on losing some of the best fans in the league, he better show them some true glory.