Byron Scott: No thought process for which Lakers forwards play

We have a late addition to the 2014-15 retrospective "Dumb things Byron Scott has said this season."

The head coach of the 20-54 Los Angeles Lakers said Wednesday there's no rhyme or reason behind his random resting of forwards down the stretch. With the team out of contention, his lineup iterations don't really matter, but it's strange to hear him admit he's just sitting guys at random.

What's more, Scott said he doesn't tell players who will be sitting ahead of time. That sounds incredibly counter-intuitive, since a player knowing he wasn't going to play would conceivably give him the opportunity to rest leading up to the game. If rest is the actual purpose of the benchings, why have a player go through a full regular routine only to miss out on their 20-to-30 minutes?

It's also rubbing some, like Ed Davis, the wrong way. He's sat the last three games despite being healthy. Carlos Boozer and Jordan Hill have also registered DNP-Rest on their ledger of late and Robert Sacre has sat out, either for rest or rotation reasons.

To be clear, there's nothing wrong with any of this. An 82-game season is very long and getting veterans extra days off is justifiable, especially for a team like the Lakers, who only keep their first-round pick if it lands in the top-five. But doing it without keeping the players in the loop - and without an actual plan in place - doesn't make a ton of sense.

And now, an abbreviated look back at the "Dumb things Byron Scott has said this season:

• July 28: Recently-hired Scott says Lakers "better be ready to play some defense." The Lakers are 28th in defensive efficiency.
• Sep. 10: It's revealed Scott's first words to the Lakers were that he wants to win a championship this season. The Lakers are 27th overall.
• Oct. 8: Scott says he wants the Lakers shooting just 10-15 threes per game, a strategy doomed to fail in today's NBA. The Lakers are 24th in 3-point attempts per game and 22nd in offensive efficiency.
• Oct. 16: Scott and Kobe Bryant reach an agreement on playing time, with Scott saying he pitched a higher number than Bryant. Bryant would open the season averaging 35.5 minutes without a game off in the team's first 27 outings, ultimately requiring multiple games off and a reduction in minutes before a shoulder injury cost him his season.
  • Jan. 21: Scott admits to having overplayed Bryant.
• Oct. 17: Scott says 3-point shooting doesn't win championships. There's just no evidence supporting this, with the league's most recent champions using the triple at least an average amount.
• Nov. 4: At 0-4, Scott asks the Lakers to treat the fifth game of an 82-game season like a Game 7.
• Nov. 7: Scott says the Lakers need to stop deferring to Bryant.
  • Jan. 3: After Bryant begins taking fewer shots against increased defensive pressure, Scott asks Bryant to shoot more.
• Jan. 3: Scott declined to have the Lakers foul on a late play, costing them their chance of winning the game in the process.
• Feb. 5: The Lakers once again opt not to foul despite evidence suggesting they should and Scott admits he may need to change his philosophy.
• Feb. 6: And here's a wrap up of the ridiculous Scott-Nick Young relationship.

There have been other smaller comments, or comments related to these larger themes, too. It's tough to fully blame Scott for the poor season, given the roster he was working with, but there should be serious questions about whether he's the right guy behind the bench when the roster becomes one that's ready to compete.