Mitch Expects More From Byron And Himself

When Mitch puts blame on himself for what's happening, it's a sign to me that he'll become more "hands on" from now on. His other comment about "Byron and myself working together" further confirms my suspicions. So far, the FO has been "hands off", letting the coaching staff do their job. That may change.

 

I just gotta love the timing of this interview though. After Byron screws with the line up again and sees not one but TWO franchise cornerstones in limited minutes and on the bench... yeah... the man's not happy right now.

Gotta hand it to him though for being politically correct with some of his words. But as Silver Screen & Roll pointed out in their analysis, there's a lot of displeasure in Mitch in how the coach has handled the kids.

 

i really don't think Mitch has been complicit in all this. i think he did a fantastic job putting together what looked like a team that would at least compete on a nightly basis. I could see Jim being okay with it, but i don't think Mitch wanted or expected this at all. They also aren't going to come out and levy threats against Byron's job until they axe him. Teams always say they support coaches and then turn around and fire them. I'm hoping this is the beginning of the end for Scott.

 

Pop was a GM before taking over HC duties in San Antonio, maybe Mitch should do the same here and free us all of this person that pretends to be the Lakers coach

 

I agree with wallangong. The FO isn't going to say outright that they don't support Byron, it will cause a s*** storm, and it simply isn't the best for business. Especially since it is the Lakers, and it will give outsiders a bad image of the Lakers. Of course Mitch will say that they support Byron. Behind closed doors, and away from the public eye, the feelings can be very different. We have all seen the comments made by Mitch about developing the young guys now, instead of waiting until next year for them to figure it out. It is the total opposite of what Byron said since all Byron wants is to "win" games AND THEN develop the young guys. Mitch also said minutes for the young guys should NOT be a factor, they have to play. But what do we hear Byron saying? Randle and Russell will get 20-25 minutes off the bench for the foreseeable future. Total opposite of what Mitch envisions going forward.

 

Mitch said the FO fully supported Mike Brown less than 1 week before they fired him. Don't expect any clues from him.
Kam Bros say the FO is too hand's off well, Mitch (or Jim) isn't a coach. Being hands on for him in regards to the coach is hiring and firing. Previous coaches haven't received ultimatums or been told what to do that I have heard of. He hires and fires.

Incidentally I was in my car 20-30 mins ago and heard about 5 mins of 710am and Mason & Ireland were absolutely calling
for Scott's head. No ambiguity about it, they were saying changes have to be made at the top and were completely critical of Scott's recent moves with the rooks.

Philly just hired Jerry Colangelo for what is Jim Buss' position, BBall Ops. That would have been a great move for us (replacing Jim with Jerry) with Jerry's connections to USA Basketball's players. Everyone is expecting big changes and quickly over there, the pressure is on our FO now.

 

That's a very very good point...in the previous fires that Mitch has done, they first come out and make it seem like they support the coach....and then bam, they fire him. I know people are saying that Scott is safe and probably will not be fired....but this is getting to a disastrous level when you alienate your team's future cornerstones, and then they come into the game and actually play well and keep us in it, and then you yank them in the final 5 minutes. THAT is where I think Scott will lose his job. Moving these guys to the bench was bad enough....but then for them to respond the way they did off the bench and STILL get put on the bench and then watch the opposing team go on a 13-0 run? I think this is where Mitch had to step in.

 

Cut the guy some slack. He's busy coaching/teaching defense...

 

i wouldn't put this on mitch. this team has talent

aside from kobe taking 100 shots per game, this is all on byron and his failure to coach this team. no way the FO will fire him this soon after hiring him unfortunately. jim buss doesn't want to admit he blew it yet again in hiring a coach