Report: Lakers, Byron Scott agree to four-year coaching deal
It’s been 88 days since Mike D’Antoni’s resignation and the Los Angeles Lakers have finally found a head coach. Per Ramona Shelbure of ESPN Los Angeles, the Lakers and Byron Scott have agreed to a four-year coaching deal.
The fourth year of Scott’s deal includes a team option, giving them flexibility if the course of the franchise changes within the timeframe of the deal.
With the Lakers, Scott will be taking on his fourth head coaching job in the NBA. He first began as the head coach of the then-New Jersey Nets where most of his success would reign from. In two of the four years with the Nets, Scott would lead that team to back-to-back NBA Finals, albeit losing in both.
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Next, Scott would find himself in New Orleans, leading the franchise to the playoffs twice in five seasons. In 2008–when the Hornets won 56 games–the NBA awarded Scott with Coach of the Year.
Following a fall out in New Orleans, Scott would then take his talents to Cleveland–a disaster from the start, coaching in the post-LeBron James era. In three seasons, the Cavaliers would never win more than 24 games. Scott was fired following the 2012-13 season.
Now with the Lakers, Scott will find himself where his NBA roots were first planted–Scott was a member of the “Showtime Lakers”. The odds of Scott accomplishing much in Los Angeles are slim to none due to the build of the roster, but the opportunity presents a chance to prove he’s a better coach than he was in Cleveland.