Los Angeles Lakers Roster News and Rumors: Jordan Clarkson, D'Angelo Russell to Play in Rising Stars

By Jude Abastar, Christian Post Contributor Sunday, January 31, 2016

The Los Angeles Lakers are staring at an awful season, but not everything is dark. With the impending retirement of Kobe Bryant, the future is facing a lot of uncertainties. However, the brightest spot right now is in team's backcourt combination of Jordan Clarkson and D'Angelo Russell.

The two young guards have been selected to represent their team in the Rising Stars Challenge at the All-Star Weekend festivities next month. While the Lakers are currently sitting at 9-38 in the season, seeing two of its future stars in this new All-Star contest is something their fans can look forward to. Although it could have been a lot better if Julius Randle was selected as well, getting two out of the three future franchise players is more than enough.

But head coach Byron Scott didn't like the fact that Randle was left out of the Rising Stars Challenge. "He's almost averaging a double-double, so I don't know what else it is that he had to do," he said. And he actually has a case here. Randle is one of the leading rebounders in the league, and that alone should have been enough to put him in there.

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Clarkson is a second year guard who has been playing the most consistent basketball for the team as of late. Russell started at the point sometime last year, but Scott inserted Clarkson back in December. While there still is some issue as to how both players will be able to work with each other when Bryant retires, the sure thing is the Lakers have a bright future ahead. They're still struggling to become reliable go-to-guys, but that is something expected out of a first and second year player.

For Scott, it is important that they don't look at their inclusion in the Rising Stars Challenge as their penultimate measurement of success. In a league where competition is fierce, careers end just as fast as they're built. That's why these two must understand that there is still a lot more to achieve in their very young careers.