Byron Scott looks at the action on the floor in the first half. The Los Angeles Lakers played the New Orleans Pelicans in a regular season NBA game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. April 1, 2015. (Photos by John McCoy / Los Angeles Daily News)
There marks one thing that has become more repetitive for the Lakers besides the persistent losing and their players making too many trips to the trainer’s room.
The Lakers have also become accustomed to applying to the NBA grant them a hardship exception, something the team hopes to seek approval for amid prolonged injuries in hopes to add another player to its roster. The rule would allow the Lakers to add a 16th person to their roster because they have four players out with extended injuries. Kobe Bryant (right shoulder), Julius Randle (right leg) and Ronnie Price (right elbow) remain out for the season, while Nick Young has missed the past month because of a fractured left knee.
Assuming the NBA approves the measure, the Lakers appear likely to add a player either through free agency or from the Development League to a 10-day contract. That move could take on added urgency considering Lakers guard Wayne Ellington had an MRI Thursday morning on his sprained right shoulder.
“We got three guards, that’s enough,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said half jokingly. “Mitch [Kupchak] and I are going to talk today about some things but we’ll see where it goes.”
The Lakers also signed Jabari Brown this week to a multi-year deal that includes a non-guaranteed contract for the 2015-16 season. The Lakers were able to make that move after formally waiving Steve Nash, who officially announced his retirement two weeks ago after missing the entire 2014-15 season because of a back injury.
As for Ellington, Scott sounded skeptical he would play when the Lakers (20-54) host the Portland Trail Blazers (48-26) on Friday at Staples Center. Scott recalled Ellington telling him Thursday morning that his right shoulder felt “really sore.”
“I don’t see him playing tomorrow,” Scott said. ” I really like Wayne a lot. And I know he’s one of those guys who wants to play, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Ellington arrived to the Lakers last year as a training camp invitee after spending his first five NBA seasons with four other teams, including the 2012-13 Cleveland Cavaliers team that Scott coached. Ellington has since averaged 10 points on 41.2 percent shooting in 25.8 minutes per game. Scott said Ellington “exceeded” his expectations, nothing that the Lakers’ shooting guard improved on creating his own shot instead of just relying on catch-and-shoot opportunities. The Lakers were also impressed how Ellington weathered the adversity surrounding his father’s murder four months ago, needing only an 11-day granted leave of absence before returning to the team.
“He did a much better job this year than I expected,” Scott said of Ellington. “But I really shouldn’t be that surprised because I know what type of kid he is and I know what type of work ethic he has.”
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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com