Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?
The Lakers fired Mike D’Antoni way back on April 30 and took longer than any other team to get around to picking a new head coach. The Lakers have said they want to find their next star player (they struck out on Carmelo Anthony this summer) then figure out what style of team to build around him. Which makes it hard to settle on a coach because they are all about style and systems.
But they finally made official what everyone else has known for days and chosen the guy who had been the front runner since May 1 — Byron Scott.
“After an extensive and thorough search, we’re proud to welcome Byron back to the Lakers family as our next head coach,” Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said in a released statement. “Byron has proven himself at the highest levels of the game as both a player and a coach in his almost 30 years of NBA experience. His leadership skills and track record for success make him the ideal person to lead this franchise forward.”
“I am ecstatic to once again be a Laker and to have the opportunity to work alongside Mitch and the Buss family,” said Scott in a statement. “I know firsthand what it takes to bring a championship to this city, and as someone who both grew up in L.A. and played the majority of my career here, I know how passionate and dedicated our fans are. I will give everything I have to fulfill the championship expectations that our supporters have for us, and that we have for ourselves.”
This is reportedly a four-year, $17 million deal with the last year being a team option (keep the buyout years down in case they figure out a style and it’s not Scott’s).
This is a dream come true for Scott, who was born in the Los Angeles area and won three rings as a member of the Showtime Lakers in his 11 years with the team. He believes in the Lakers brand and he can sell that to the players — and the Lakers will sell the “return to family aspect.”
Scott coached the Jason Kidd-led New Jersey Nets and was named Coach of the Year in 2008 while leading Chris Paul’s Hornets. Yet he has struggled with player development and defense in his last two stops (despite what he is preaching).
For the Lakers, this is a hire they can sell but one that feels like a placeholder until they get their star player and pick a direction. Whenever that happens. In the mean time enjoy Kobe Bryant’s last couple years and the coaching stylings of Byron Scott.