The Los Angeles Lakers have finally found their new head coach in Byron Scott. It was a long process, but Scott always appeared to be the answer the team was looking for.
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Following the announcement that the Lakers reached an agreement with Scott, the team’s new head coach said the following about how it feels to return to Los Angeles in an interview with CBS’s Jim Hill:
“It feels fantastic,” said Scott to Hill. “This is a dream come true. I always wanted to coach the Lakers, especially when I got to coaching. Its so unreal. I have to thank Mitch, Jeanie and Jim Buss to give me this opportunity.”
Scott has a history with the team helping the Lakers win three titles during the Showtime era while playing alongside Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Scott was also very close with late owner Dr. Jerry Buss and many believe he would’ve been the successor to Phil Jackson if he didn’t take the coaching job with the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2010.
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Scott agreed to a four-year deal with the team giving him some long-term security:
Lakers deal with Byron Scott will be four years, $17 million
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 27, 2014
With Mike D’Antoni resigning back in late April, the team chose to take their time in searching for a new head coach. Scott talks about the Lakers brass going through the process of searching for the right man for the job via Hill:
“I really believe that they wanted to do the diligence and to make sure that I was the right guy,” added Scott. “I know there were other candidates out there, and I felt like that with each meeting I thought was better and better, and I felt like they had a better understanding of what I was all about. I thought that the last few hires in their minds, they were a little hasty with, and so on this one, they took their time to make sure I was the right guy for this situation. Again, I think it worked out well for both sides.”
Now that Scott is in the fold, the team will likely start to take shape. The roster is basically already filled with 11 players signed and Wesley Johnson and Jordan Clarkson’s deals more than likely on the verge of becoming official.
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Scott may begin to give some perspective on his plans moving forward. There’s been a lot of debate about the team’s depth chart with a surplus of forwards in the frontcourt and a lot of uncertainty surrounding the small forward position.
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Lakers Hire New Coach Byron Scott