by Marcel Mutoni / @ marcel_mutoni
To no one’s surprise, Doc Rivers’ controversial decision to have all Los Angeles Lakers championship banners covered up with posters of the Clippers during home games wasn’t well received in Lakerland.
The fans, naturally, completely flipped out and some Lakers voiced displeasure with the perceived slight. Nick Young jokingly called the move “disrespectful.”
Per the LA Daily News:
“We got to talk to Doc,” Young said Sunday at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo. “He can’t have that. We have to do something about that … That’s a lot of pull ya’ll are giving Doc,” Young said. “He shouldn’t come and have that much pull. He should come and earn his keep.” Rivers did win an NBA title in 2008, though with the Boston Celtics against the Lakers. “But he didn’t win no title in L.A,” said Young, whose six-year NBA career also included a stint with the Clippers. “That’s where it’s at. Look at all these banners in here. You can’t shadow those up.”
“I understand they can’t be overshadowed too much by what’s happened in the past in the history of our franchise,” Lakers forward Pau Gasol said. “They have to worry about their own. They have a good group of players and have high expectations for the season. They have to worry about their business. Maybe that’s distracting to them so that’s fine as long as they stay there where they belong.”
In other news of the Lakers having their feelings hurt: Kobe Bryant recently changed his Twitter avatar, a reference to being motivated by poor player and team rankings from ESPN.
The Lakers have lowered expectations and plenty to prove heading into the 2013-’14 season. Whether that pushes them past mediocrity, however, is anyone’s guess.
