NBA Rumors: Los Angeles Lakers want to hire Byron Scott as head coach?
By Bryan Rose
While the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching vacancy is one of the more popular in the NBA, there haven’t been too many big names attached to it. Some believe that’s because the Lakers are only looking for a short-term coach to fill in the gaps, though, we’ve heard nothing publicly from the Lakers to suggest that as a possibility.
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Regardless, short-term or not, the Lakers are going to need a head coach in the very near future and while a handful of names have been linked to the position, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio reports that Byron Scott is the favorite to be hired as the Lakers next head coach.
“In other coaching news, sources around the league believe former Cavs coach Byron Scott has emerged as the frontrunner for the Lakers’ coaching job,” says Amico.
Scott, who has a pretty solid coaching resume is also a former Lakers player, something that reportedly been a desire of the Buss ownership when it came to bringing in a replacement for Mike D’Antoni.
It should be noted that Scott also has a very good relationship with Kobe Bryant, though, I’m not sure if that’s among the chief priorities the Lakers are looking at (though I’m guessing it is one).
Sadly for Scott, or whomever is hired, the Lakers (as currently constructed) are facing an up hill battle in the tough Western Conference and will need some significant improvements very quickly if they’re to compete for a playoff spot in the next season or two.