Lakers to fire Scott

[Hangman]

Per ESPN just breaking news

Ill try and find a link

 

[Hangman]

Lakers fire coach Scott, sources say

The Los Angeles Lakers have fired coach Byron Scott after they posted the worst record in franchise history in each of the two seasons since he was hired, sources have told ESPN's Stephen A. SmithE.

Scott had said he expected to be back a week ago, two days after the team closed its 2015-16 season with a win over the Utah Jazz, which gave the Lakers a franchise-worst 17-65 record.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak had said he and Lakers part-owner and executive vice president Jim Buss plan to have an "informal lunch" with Scott at some point in the next two weeks.

The Lakers have been in rebuilding mode since Kobe Bryant ruptured his Achilles in April 2013. All-Star center Dwight Howard left the team for less money elsewhere the following offseason, then All-Star center Pau Gasol did the same in the summer of 2014.

Bryant, meanwhile, wasn't the same dominant player since his Achilles injury. The five-time champion suffered consecutive season-ending injuries in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. He played 66 games this past season before retiring.

Information from ESPN's Baxter Holmes was used in this report.

 

[trojanfight]

A little ridiculous Now with 2 top candidates to have preferred LA over the jobs they took. Are all the eggs in one basket for luke Walton?

 

[GNG]

Per ESPN just breaking news

Ill try and find a link

Paul Westhead would be a good choice for head coach.

 

[wildturkey]

A little ridiculous Now with 2 top candidates to have preferred LA over the jobs they took. Are all the eggs in one basket for luke Walton?

Anyone is an upgrade, even someone as dictatorial like Mark Jackson. Walton, Van Gundy, Ettore Messina are out there. There's talks amongst some NBA insiders that the Grizzlies would be willing to let Dave Joeger interview for other jobs (he's high on my list if true).

 

[Retroram52]

The timing could have been better if they were thinking Thibs but this only means that Luke is the next head coach of the Lakers especially if the Dubs win another title. Luke would also explain why the Lakers weren't in a hurry. Either that or this FO is incredibly incompetent to the point of being total buffoons.

 

[GMATCa]

So did Scott receive a raw deal or is his firing warranted?

I am not sure if Scott could be fairly judged until Kobe Bryant was out of the way. When you have a player putting up 16.9 field goal attempts per game (in just 28.2 minutes) and shooting .358 from the field, including 7.1 three-point field goal attempts on a .285 conversion rate, you cannot build a team properly and you are basically playing exhibition basketball so that fans can see the 'old timer' and hope for a flashback.

Scott was not in an appropriate situation to develop and compete.

 

[Retroram52]

This article will get you to roll your eyes with some of the suggestions. Walton and Messina are the only two legit candidates. Nancy Lieberman? Seriously?

11 candidates who would make sense as the Lakers' next head coach

 

[OutlawImmortal]

So did Scott receive a raw deal or is his firing warranted?

I am not sure if Scott could be fairly judged until Kobe Bryant was out of the way. When you have a player putting up 16.9 field goal attempts per game (in just 28.2 minutes) and shooting .358 from the field, including 7.1 three-point field goal attempts on a .285 conversion rate, you cannot build a team properly and you are basically playing exhibition basketball so that fans can see the 'old timer' and hope for a flashback.

Scott was not in an appropriate situation to develop and compete.

You kidding? Scott actively encouraged Kobe to do whatever he wanted. This wasn't a situation where Scott wanted to get the whole team involved and Kobe was disrupting the offense at all. Scott wanted Kobe to shoot as much as possible.

 

[trojanfan12]

So did Scott receive a raw deal or is his firing warranted?

I am not sure if Scott could be fairly judged until Kobe Bryant was out of the way. When you have a player putting up 16.9 field goal attempts per game (in just 28.2 minutes) and shooting .358 from the field, including 7.1 three-point field goal attempts on a .285 conversion rate, you cannot build a team properly and you are basically playing exhibition basketball so that fans can see the 'old timer' and hope for a flashback.

Scott was not in an appropriate situation to develop and compete.

Yes and no. It's true that Byron was put in an impossible situation. His first year he lost Julius Randle in the first 12 minutes of the season and only had Kobe for about 30 games. This year he had an incredibly young core and had to deal with the Kobe farewell tour. The Lakers could have had Popovich and would have only improved enough to cost themselves any shot at keeping the top 3 pick.

Having said that, he said before the season that the Lakers would focus on defense. They started the season 30th in defense and finished 30th in defense and had the same issues all season long. He and the players kept saying all season that they work on and talk about defense all of the time. If that's true, you'd think there would be at least some improvement but there was none. So, whatever they were practicing/talking about, wasn't translating onto the court.

Plus, there was so much negativity around Byron from both fans and the press, that alone was enough reason to not bring him back.

 

[shopson67]

Fisher is interested, lol. I don't think anyone was asking him, but there it is...

 

[Black Adam]

Fisher is interested, lol. I don't think anyone was asking him, but there it is...

heard about that...and no thanks...

 

[Kold]

Whether its right or wrong, seems like we're all in on Luke

 

[lakersrule]

You kidding? Scott actively encouraged Kobe to do whatever he wanted. This wasn't a situation where Scott wanted to get the whole team involved and Kobe was disrupting the offense at all. Scott wanted Kobe to shoot as much as possible.

And that seemed to be the most important component of Scott's job description: let Kobe do what he wanted during his farewell tour. I don't think the front office was too concerned about wins and losses. Kobe never practiced. He basically just showed up for games. Scott was the perfect coach for letting Kobe chuck away and be useless on defense. Kobe was never really held accountable although arguably he was to blame for many of the losses.

 

[Retroram52]

The defense B. Scott presented began with the center position. We had nothing from Hibbert all season and that pretty much destroyed any defensive prowess. Scott tried Bass at the five which was a defensive disaster. Scott never believed Tariq Black would be that pivotal, in-the-middle defensive stalwart that would be the presence he needed. I believe that was one of Scott's biggest mistakes. Black could have been a pretty good defensive solution given the consistent chance and may have help change the Lakers defensive fortunes. Black certainly could not have done any worse than Hibbert. That is for sure.

 

[Retroram52]

This is a better more viable and certainly a greater possibility list than the last article I posted. Luke and Messina are still at the top of the list.

Five names to watch as potential next Lakers’ head coach

 

[GMATCa]

You kidding? Scott actively encouraged Kobe to do whatever he wanted. This wasn't a situation where Scott wanted to get the whole team involved and Kobe was disrupting the offense at all. Scott wanted Kobe to shoot as much as possible.

What I mean is that Scott did not necessarily have a choice in the matter. He had an albatross on his hands, and I imagine that his expectation was to just tolerate it for a year, let the Lakers draft as highly as possible, and then get back to business the next season once the circus had passed.

 

[GMATCa]

Yes and no. It's true that Byron was put in an impossible situation. His first year he lost Julius Randle in the first 12 minutes of the season and only had Kobe for about 30 games. This year he had an incredibly young core and had to deal with the Kobe farewell tour. The Lakers could have had Popovich and would have only improved enough to cost themselves any shot at keeping the top 3 pick.

Having said that, he said before the season that the Lakers would focus on defense. They started the season 30th in defense and finished 30th in defense and had the same issues all season long. He and the players kept saying all season that they work on and talk about defense all of the time. If that's true, you'd think there would be at least some improvement but there was none. So, whatever they were practicing/talking about, wasn't translating onto the court.

Plus, there was so much negativity around Byron from both fans and the press, that alone was enough reason to not bring him back.

Given that rational people had to understand that the Lakers' record would be awful and that Los Angeles was basically playing for the lottery until the Kobe Tour ended, what was the negativity based on? The defense and the soap opera stuff regarding Young and Russell? Why did Scott's history with the Lakers as a player and his (partial) track record of coaching success in other places not grant him the benefit of the doubt?

 

[GMATCa]

And that seemed to be the most important component of Scott's job description: let Kobe do what he wanted during his farewell tour. I don't think the front office was too concerned about wins and losses. Kobe never practiced. He basically just showed up for games. Scott was the perfect coach for letting Kobe chuck away and be useless on defense. Kobe was never really held accountable although arguably he was to blame for many of the losses.

... that is what I mean. I cannot imagine that the Lakers' front office was playing for anything other than Kobe-based publicity and revenue this year. For the front office to then, in effect, blame Scott for wins and losses seems like a case of classic scapegoating.

But there may be more to it than that, which is why I have been asking.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

What I mean is that Scott did not necessarily have a choice in the matter. He had an albatross on his hands, and I imagine that his expectation was to just tolerate it for a year, let the Lakers draft as highly as possible, and then get back to business the next season once the circus had passed.

I guarantee you that Scott did not view Kobe as an albatross, he probably felt lucky to coach Kobe. He probably would love to have him for another year, he certainly wasn't thinking "shit, got to wait this Kobe thing out and then get to coaching for real". You have to understand that Scott is stuck in the 80's when it comes to his coaching. He benches young talent in a lost season and held the few veterans he had above all others. If you saw him coach this season then you would know that his rapport with the players as well as his schemes were terrible. He would probably be a good coach for a veteran team but he is horrible for young players in the modern NBA. His coaching style is simply outdated.