<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Los Angeles Lakers have fired coach Byron Scott, league sources tell <a href="https://twitter.com/TheVertical">@TheVertical</a></p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojVerticalNBA/status/724433822226501632">April 25, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This was an obvious move. If the Lakers wanted to be taken seriously by major FAs, they had to dump Byron Scott.
That seems so lame to me. "Hey, we want you to steer this pathetic ship of a team through Kobe's farewell season. It will be pretty lame, and you have to play him heavy minutes and let him brick a **** ton of shots, but you know, it's for the good of our org and the glory of our great history!" "Well, okay, if you put it like that." ... "Thanks k bye, loser."
well, that's too bad. but he did an awful job with the Lakers, he really did. Probably a no-win situation right from the start.
He made Kobe take all those shots and neglected to rest him, so much so that Kobe had to retire afterwards.
Would an established coach like JVG really want to step into that mess of a franchise? All the drama with Young / Russell, the year after Kobe retires, etc. Unless the Lakers get the #1 pick, I don't see JVG going there.
I remember Cyber alluding to the fact that he was interested in coaching there at one point but only time will tell. They should get a top three pick and Russell/Randle/ Clarkson are three really nice players. Adding a Simmons, Ingram or even Hield to that team and you have a very bright future around that core. Don't be surprised to see free agents interested in playing there now that Kobe is gone. It's still the most celebrated franchise in the NBA despite recent years.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/source...-scott-033247772.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma Really great list of candidates. They are going to go hard after Durant. I really hope Durant doesn't go there because it opens up WB and Harden to join the following two seasons.
He hasn't been a good coach with the exception of his time in Jersey. He took that group to the finals two years straight. Byron did what the Lakers wanted him to do though. He was expected to help groom some rookies/young players into decent (super) role-players/starters, all the while, allowing Kobe to choose when and how he plays during a farewell tour. That sounds like a terrible situation. You're not expected to do well, but you are required to accommodate one of the best players of all time while he's on a rapid decline. The icing on the cake was Russell absolutely destroying the morale and trust on that squad. Byron looked like a clueless father with the way he spoke about it to the media. He needs better PR people around him... His record with the Nets was pretty solid. But,as we all know, Jason Kidd is one of the undercover ego-maniacs in the league. Actually, if you look at JKidd's record as a player and a coach, he may have one of the biggest egos of all time, challenging guys like Kobe, Melo, etc... He's just a guy that plays the PR game until it's a nightmare on his way out. The Lakers have some really nice pieces. If they play their cards correctly, they could have a strong, up-and-coming group for years to come. They're slightly mirroring the Thunder's approach to a strong backcourt. Give them some decent vets and a coach with a system (sounds familiar), and they can do something.