Los Angeles Lakers Fire Head Coach Byron Scott
After two of the worst seasons in franchise history, the Los Angeles Lakers have decided to make yet another drastic change. Although it was reported multiple times over the past few weeks that head coach Byron Scott would likely be retained as head coach, the Lakers brass decided to part ways with the 57-year-old on Sunday.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Lakers will not be bringing Scott back for a third season after a 17-win finish in the 2015-16 NBA campaign:
The Los Angeles Lakers have fired coach Byron Scott, league sources tell @TheVertical
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) April 25, 2016
Scott agreed to a four-year deal following the resignation of Mike D’Antoni in 2014. The former Lakers guard knew he had an incredibly tough task ahead of him by inheriting a team that was on the verge of losing Pau Gasol in NBA free agency and an aging Kobe Bryant coming off a second straight season-ending injury.
Needless to say, the odds of Scott turning things around in Los Angeles in a two-year span with a roster filled with unproven young players and glorified D-Leaguers weren’t good, to say the least.
Scott ends his two-year stint with the Lakers with a record of 38-126 while coming off the worst season in franchise history. Bryant may have ended the season on a high note scoring 60 points in his last game, but the superstar couldn’t will the team to more than 17 wins with the Lakers finishing with the second-worst record in the NBA ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers.
With Scott now out of the picture in Los Angeles, the Lakers brass will look to the obvious candidates in Luke Walton, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and David Blatt. There’s no clear-cut frontrunner at this point, but Walton appears to be the one the Lakers covet the most moving forward.
