With head coach Byron Scott in evaluation mode moving forward, the focus in the final 11 games of the 2014-15 NBA regular season will be all about the young players on the roster.
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One of those players currently being evaluated by the coaching staff is Duke product Ryan Kelly. Coach Scott has been playing Kelly at the power forward position opposed to small forward and likes the results he’s been seeing with second-year player looking more comfortable at the four.
In the final stretch of the season, Coach Scott told the media after the loss to the Toronto Raptors that he’ll continue playing Kelly at power forward, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Byron Scott said he plans to keep Ryan Kelly at the four for pretty much the remainder of the season & continue to evaluate him
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 28, 2015
Before heading into the matchup with the Raptors on Friday night, Kelly averaged 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Although shooting is perhaps the strongest part of Kelly’s game, the second-year forward has struggled at 30.2 percent from the floor and 33.9 from beyond the arc as a starter.
Despite a disappointing sophomore season with the Lakers, Kelly is one of only four players on the current roster with a guaranteed contract for next season. Kelly joins Kobe Bryant, Julius Randle and Nick Young as the only players assured a spot on the roster moving forward unless traded or waived.
[divide]Steve Nash Retirement Press Conference
