Any fan of the Los Angeles Lakers knows at this point that the team will only keep their first round pick if it lands in the top-five. With no chance at the playoffs, most fans have begun rooting for the Lakers to ‘tank’ in hopes of retaining the pick.
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Many in the Lakers organization have spoken out against the act of tanking and Byron Scott admitted that the fans constantly rooting for Lakers losses bothers him according to Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding:
Byron Scott believes half of Lakers fans want them to lose these days: "The half that wants us to lose, that bothers me a lot."
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) March 1, 2015
As a head coach, Scott is always going to do everything in his power to win games. While organizations may choose to not put out the best roster in hopes of getting a high pick, the coaches and players are always going to play their hardest.
The Lakers’ pick is a massive part of the hopes for the team’s future. Fans are hoping to pair the top pick with the returning Kobe Bryant and Julius Randle and whoever the team can bring in with their massive amount of cap space in free agency.
Lakers fans and Scott both want the same thing which is for the Lakers to vastly improve and return to greatness. With the Lakers now winning three straight games and looking for their fourth against the Oklahoma City Thunder, those tanking fans will not be happy with another win, but Scott’s job is to win games and he is gonna keep trying to do that.
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