LOS ANGELES — The most interesting thing around the Lakers right now, well aside the looming Kobe Bryant news and it’s impacts, may be summed up in this tweet from the Lakers’ official account.
Rookie Duties pic.twitter.com/1z4SEgScl0
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 26, 2015
It’s a little “welcome to the NBA hazing” for Lakers’ rookies Jordan Clarkson and Tarik Black, who will be wheeling babies around the rest of the season, taking care of the children who are as lifelike as the baby in “American Sniper.”
And the idea was coach Byron Scott’s.
“Absolutely...” Scott confirmed when asked if it was his idea. “They are in charge of bringing them to every home game, making sure they are right by their locker, that the baby is not crying or anything like that, then after the game take them home. My only concern is the will go in the family room, there are so many kids there they might try to take their babies. So they have to watch their babies, then on game days on the road they have to wear baby backpacks.”
A lot of NBA teams have various forms of rookie hazing. Scott said with the Showtime Lakers the worst he had to put up with was carrying some bags. Nothing too bad. Nick Young, on the other hand, reminded the media pregame that his rookie team had Gilbert Arenas — a legendary NBA prankster — on it. He said one day Arenas took the wheels off his car. Which, considering this is Arenas, is getting off light.
Here is a vine of this, via Lakers Reporter Mike Trudell.
