Byron Scott Discussion 2015-16 - FIRED!!! (PAGE 172)

Good find. What an a**.

 

I didn't watch Magic play, I was born in '84, I saw him briefly as shadow of his former self in.. 96? I have no emotional connection to him, yet still I have the ultimate respect for him as a player. He's considered by many the greatest Laker ever and he only played a little more than a decade. All that said, this is the first time he's really angered me. He looks like a jacka** here, defending this horrible coach because he's his boy, while he destroyed 'Antoni in the same public manner. It's shameful, and it makes me lose respect for the man, even moreso because I didn't see him play, yet he was still so good I know of his greatness. There's a time to just step back and shut up. So Magic, please shut the hell up and gtfo with this stuff.

 

Good article in SF Chronicle about Luke and the Lakers.

When the Warriors reached last season’s NBA Finals, assistant coach Luke Walton decided it was time to call Kobe Bryant.

“I just wanted to pick his brain about LeBron (James). He’s battled LeBron his whole career, so I wanted to see what he had found to work and what he understood didn’t,” Walton said in advance of the Warriors’ road game Sunday against the Lakers. “It was inside information that I’m not sharing, in case we play Cleveland again, but Kobe was great to take the time to have conversations about it.”

Yep, Walton can get the Lakers’ legend to pick up the phone and share confidential information while he’s on vacation.

Actually, Walton can get pretty much anyone within the Lakers’ organization to answer at any time.

His ties are strong with the franchise for which he played from 2003 to ’12 and will be on full display Sunday at the Staples Center.

“I want them to succeed, having played there for that long,” said Walton, who grew up in San Diego and calls Manhattan Beach (Los Angeles County) home. “In sports, the good franchises have a family atmosphere, and that’s how it was playing there. I’m still close with a lot of the people there and see them over the summer.

“I’m always hoping that they have success.”

When the Warriors arrive at Staples, Walton will be loved by security on his way from the bus to the locker room, he’ll be swarmed by arena staffers on his way from the locker room to the court, and the crowd that lingers postgame will be among the season’s largest.

Plus, he’ll feel obliged to answer the obvious questions from the L.A. media about the possibility of one day coaching there.

“My philosophy on everything in life is to concentrate on what you’re doing now. Wasting time on hypotheticals is exactly what I said: ‘wasting time,’” Walton said. “We have a great chance of winning another championship here, and that’s not a realistic thing for most people, most years.”

Walton has made it clear that he’s in no hurry to become a head coach, but after he guided the Warriors to a 39-4 record in head coach Steve Kerr’s absence, the league seems to be in a hurry to hire him.

In 2012-13, Walton played for Lakers head coach Byron Scott in Cleveland. He’s gone out of his way to praise the job Scott is doing this season in Los Angeles, despite the Lakers’ 12-51 record.

In 2013-14, Walton had a bit role on a coaching staff in the NBA Development League.

In 2014-15, Walton was hired as a third assistant to Kerr.

In 2015-16, Walton has enhanced his profile to where he can seemingly take almost any head-coaching job he wants.

“There is always light joking about everything that happens from day to day around here,” Walton said of comments by All-Stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green about the possibility of Walton coaching elsewhere in 2016-17. “Jokes will be cracked, but we know how good we have it here.

“We know what we have going on here is pretty darn special. I don’t think any of us are in a hurry to try to get out of here.”

Things are a little different in Los Angeles, where the storied Lakers’ franchise has lost 167 of its past 227 games over three seasons.

But they’ll free up more than $40 million of cap space when Bryant and Roy Hibbert come off the books this summer, and the cap is expected to jump some $20 million. Considering the organization’s ability to draw free agents and the possibility that it’ll draft among the top three, the Lakers might not be far from being competitive again.

“I think they’ve got some good, young talent,” Walton said. “D’Angelo (Russell) looks like he’s really starting to figure out the speed of the NBA game. He’s playing fluid and controlling the tempo, like he did in college. I’m a fan of (Larry) Nance.

“Obviously, they still need some pieces, but they’re moving in the right direction.”


NOTE: This article was written before today's game.

 

Sounds a little like Luke is waiting out the run?

The rumors of the Lakers keeping Byron around I think relate to whether or not Luke is ready to take the job. If he says no, then I think the Lakers might very well keep Byron another season...

 

It's not my position, but it's one I think the Lakers could take. I agree wholeheartedly that Byron needs to go no matter what. However...

Say Kevin Durant does what everyone is now coming to expect and takes the 1+1 deal with the player option so he can cash in next summer. Luke takes a look around at the available coaching positions and instead opts to stay in Golden State as the lead assistant to continue on this run.

Now the Lakers are looking around and realizing there's no chance of Luke or Durant THIS summer... If they have their heart set on those two pieces then here's what likely happens:
- The Lakers keep Byron because why fire the coach to bring in another coach that you're only going to fire AGAIN to get Luke next summer?
- The Lakers then take on something like 32 million in expiring contracts so that they have available cap space next summer for Durant. That means guys like Rudy Gay maybe, Andrew Bogut, maybe you give a big one year deal to Roy Hibbert again...
- The Lakers hand out hopefully one max deal in the process, but expected win totals would still be in the 20-30 range meaning it's a semi-tank.

Then in another year you fire Scott, go after Durant, and try the whole process over again hoping that the kids took the necessary steps to make this look like a competitive environment. I don't agree with the plan, but I could absolutely see it happening.