The Lakers have agreed to terms on a 4-year, $17 million contract with Byron Scott. Hall of Fame NBA Writer Mark Heisler discussed why it took so long for the Lakers to find their new head coach.
As quickly as L.A. Lakers fans can curse Jim Buss, the storied franchise has gone from being one of the world’s model organizations to arguably the most dysfunctional team in all the NBA.
Consider the franchise that boasts Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Elgin Baylor among its All-Time alums now can’t so much as smoothly coordinate the official hiring of another of their own, even after holding more interviews with him than even the number of times Kobe Bryant and Nick Young figure to engage in stare downs this season over the other’s suspect shot selection.
Byron Scott went public this weekend with “details” of the four-year, $17 million deal he supposedly had in the bank with the squad he once won multiple titles with as Johnson’s backcourt running mate, only to be as rudely rebuffed by Buss’ crew as one once foolish enough to dare to challenge the likes of Chamberlain or Jabbar around the L.A. hoop.
No doubt, the 53-year-old Scott will ultimately wind up with his gig, though you could argue that well could have as much do with not many even out-of-work coaches being desperate enough to take the Lakers up on any offer as it does with the franchise being totally sold on Scott.
“It feels fantastic,” Scott told reporters of his pseudo-hiring. “I always wanted to coach the Lakers, especially when I got into coaching. This is a dream come true.”
Coming off a franchise-worst 27-55 season and proving unable to attract any top-tier talent in summer free agency, Scott could soon rue the day he uttered such declarations. While Bryant is expected back from an assortment of injuries that limited him to just six games last season, it’s fair to wonder just what that will come to mean and just who the Lakers’ legend will truly be.
“This is a future Hall of Famer, we all know that, and I feel that he is going to be helping me as well because we see the game in a very similar way,” Scott said of Bryant. “I love the fact that people keep doubting that this man is going to come back and play great, because I know in my heart, and knowing him the way I do, that he loves those type of challenges.”
With a roster that could be forced to depend on either Jeremy Lin or Carlos Boozer as a number two or three scoring option, Scott needs to believe Bryant will be the Black Mamba of old— and even that may not be enough.
L.A. allowed more than 109 points per game last season, second worse in the league behind Philadelphia, yet an issue the team has done little this off season to address, other than inserting Scott in place of the offensive-minded Mike D’Antoni.
“I really believe that they wanted to do the diligence and to make sure that I was the right guy,” Scott said of the Laker’s deliberate pace in making his anointment official. “I thought that the last few hires, in their minds, they were a little hasty with, and so on this one, they took their time to make sure I was the right guy for this situation.”
