In his second and final season as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Byron Scott repeatedly saw himself in the headlines due to his relationship with then-rookie point guard D'Angelo Russell.

Since his departure, Scott has continued to provide more insight into his inner dealings with Russell in his first year in the NBA. During a recent interview with Mark Medina of the Orange Country Register, he brought clarity as to why he demoted the former second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft following the first 20 games of the regular season.

Scott has different feelings about Russell. He said the then-rookie’s demotion was partly because he frequently arrived to the Lakers’ facility only minutes before practice started. So, Scott eventually required his young players to complete individual workouts 30 minutes before and after practice.

“I don’t know if his work ethic has gotten any better. Some of the people I’ve talked to in the organization said that it hasn’t,” Scott said of Russell. “I just wish him all the best. The maturity level will catch up to him sooner or later when he realizes it’s an honor and a privilege to be in the NBA and be in the position that he’s in. He has to take full advantage of it.”

Much of the issue that Scott had with Russell is aimed towards what he believed to be a lack of a strong work ethic. It has been called into question at times throughout his brief NBA career. This is something that apparently still draws some level of doubt from Scott in terms of Russell fulfilling the potential he has to become a highly productive player in the NBA with his unique combination of scoring and passing ability.

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With these added details in Scott's reasoning for his decision to demote Russell, it provides more of a clear understanding of why he went that route. He was simply trying to shape better personal habits for the young point guard to pick up and utilize moving forward in his NBA career.

Scott's actions and words through the media at times were head-scratching, but he had the right intentions in mind to help Russell's maturation progress along.