Byron Scott tells it like it is: D'Angelo Russell 'is not Magic Johnson'

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott hails from the old school, and he's not one to blow sunshine up anyone's keister, whether it's a perennial D-Leaguer or the NBA's No. 2 draft pick.

Lakers rookie point guard D'Angelo Russell - taken second overall in this year's draft - wrapped up a disappointing Las Vegas Summer League on Friday, averaging 11.8 points, 3.2 assists, and 5.2 turnovers, while shooting 37.7 percent from the field and 11.8 percent from 3-point range as his squad went 1-4.

Scott didn't mince words when assessing the Lakers' projected point guard of the future, drawing a clear (if not entirely necessary) distinction between Russell and the franchise's last great point guard, who Scott played alongside once upon a time.

"Let's make this very clear, Russell is not Magic Johnson," he said, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. "Magic came on the scene, and instantly he's a Hall-of-Famer. D'Angelo has a way to go, there's no doubt about that.

"Sometimes when you come out here and you're the No. 1, No. 2, or No. 3 pick, you expect to come out here and tear the league up. When guys kind of eat your lunch every now and then, it brings you back down to earth and lets you know that you still have a long way to go. In the long run, this might be the best thing that ever happened to him."

Russell, for his part, wasn't any easier on himself.

"Not good," the 19-year-old Ohio State product said of his Summer League performance. "I know what I'm capable of, and I know the work that we put in before we came here as a team. I don't feel like we played to our full potential."

Russell shot up draft boards in his lone season with the Buckeyes, papering over his lack of raw athleticism with crafty, herky-jerky drives, slick ballhandling, and wizardly passing - skills that led many to compare him to James Harden. The problems right now, Russell insists, start with his head.

"It's all mental," he said. "I don't feel like you need to be the strongest or fastest to get it done. I've never been that."

Scott, somewhat contradictorily, deems Russell's mental game one of his greatest assets.

"I still think the kid has the chance to be an unbelievable basketball player," Scott said. "His poise out there is still second to none, of what I saw of all the guys here at summer league."