The Los Angeles Lakers really may have messed up this time. Sunday afternoon the Lakers management decided not to bring head coach and former player Byron Scott back to the organization following the worst season in franchise history, with a (17-65) record. Reports were originally reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Verticle and later confirmed by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
General Manager Mitch Kupchak spoke on the decision.
“We would like to thank Byron for his hard work, dedication and loyalty over the last two years, but have decided it is in the best interest of the organization to make a change at this time.”
With all the problems surrounding the Lakers organization right now, you can’t point your finger at coach Scott. There’s a problem with the most simple aspect of an NBA team…talent. There’s very limited talent on this team. With the exception of three or four young players, there’s not much at all. Even those young players have a long way to go until they are considered a dominant force of any kind. They possess raw talent, but that’s never been enough to win a championship. Ever. You need a star or two, surrounded by an above average supporting cast. Just like past great Laker teams.
With Scott coaching two championship teams, led by Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin back in his New Jersey days, he for sure knows how to run a team…he knows how to coach talent, and he knows how to motivate players to elevate their game. He has to have the nucleus of talent around stars, though, and he didn’t have it in Los Angeles. When Kobe Bryant is your leading scorer for this team averaging just 17.6 points per game, that’s an obvious sign that talent on this team lacks as a whole. With free agency approaching, and the Lakers desire to lure a premier free agent or two in Los Angeles this may be an attempt to get a more popular coach in the organization, with a more popular coaching style, instead of Scott’s old school coaching style.
Just spoke with Larry Nance Jr., who said he was a “big fan” of Byron Scott & thanked him for the opportunities he received this year
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) April 25, 2016
This isn’t anything new actually. As of late, the Lakers have had to deal with this coaching drama regularly.
With Byron Scott out, the Lakers will now be looking for their sixth head coach since 2011.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) April 25, 2016
Probably the most significant reason there hasn’t been much success here lately within the Lakers franchise.
Who do you think the Laker organization feels will “fit the bill” as a successful Lakers head coach?
It would be nice to see Marc Jackson back coaching. He did a lot for Golden State when he was there.