Report: Remainder of season a 'trial' for Lakers coach Byron Scott

It's been a rough couple of seasons for Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott. After the Lakers' worst year in franchise history, they have somehow taken a step back. All signs point to the Philadelphia 76ers leapfrogging the Lakers in the standings soon, at which point the recent boos for Scott will get even louder. Plenty of Lakers fans would be happy if he was fired, and the remainder of the season will reportedly determine whether or not that will happen.

From the Los Angeles Times' Mike Bresnahan:

Will Scott be back? People close to the organization think this season's final 2½ months are a trial of sorts. It would help Scott's chances if the young players showed growth and the games were more competitive. There has to be hope, not despair.

Back in December, it was reported that Scott would last the rest of the season. That still seems likely, even though his treatment of No. 2 pick D'Angelo Russell remains as puzzling as ever. He has the worst record of any coach in Lakers history, and this season Los Angeles' offense is almost as bad as its league-worst defense. No sane person believed the people in the organization who talked about competing for a playoff spot, but most didn't think they'd only win nine of their first 50 games, either.

With 32 games left, Scott is facing an uphill battle in terms of rebuilding his reputation. Stephen Jackson calling him "the worst communicator for young guys" last month certainly didn't help matters. Ironically, it appears the people who could save Scott are the ones he's been criticizing all year: Russell and Julius Randle. The Lakers are focused on the future, and Scott's main challenge is to show he's the right guy to help them develop.

http://mweb.cbssports.com/nba/eye-o...f-season-a-trial-for-lakers-coach-byron-scott

 

He shouldn't even have a trial, chance, or whatever you call want to call it. He has been a disgrace to the organization as a coach, and the front office should be ashamed of themselves once again.

 

What Scott and apparently Mitch don't realize is that the "tough love" approach with youth only works with players that respect you and want to win for you. He is missing a key ingredient, respect. You want players to win for you well you have to show them that you have their back as well and also you need to show them that you know what you are doing. If you can't design the game around your players to show their strengths and you can't figure out where the chemistry is then the tough love approach has the opposite of the desired effect.

Byron is no Pop.

 

so the past season and a half haven't been enough proof that our "coach" is brain dead?i mean, it really says something when byron scott makes mike freakin d'antoni look like a good coach

the fact that the FO is actually considering bringing this guy back is just sad and shows how far this organization has fallen. sure jimmy, go ahead and bring your latest mistake back. our future stars won't develop properly and this team will not see the light of day for years and years.

if byron isn't shown the door once this waste of a season ends, that'll be the end of my time as a lakers fan. oh and the time is ticking for jimmy too, remember how he said he would supposedly step down if the lakers weren't contending in a few years? obviously we all know that loser wouldn't even consider stepping down but if other higher ups in the FO have a brain, they'll make sure he's locked away in a dark room far, far away when it comes time to hiring a new coach

 

If you had the option for a tutor and your options are...

A.) The kid with one of the worst grades (coaching records) in the class that is a very poor teacher and has very poor results when tutoring

Or

B.) The group of guys in the class with good grades ( Thibs, Blatt, etc) that have proven track records of great teaching and results.

Hmmmm? What would you choose?

 

I think there's a couple ways of viewing the news. the pessimistic one is "omg, they might not fire him!", which I understand. the optimistic one is that this might mean Russell and randle (and maybe even black?) will get to play with fewer restrictions from here on out if scott plans to keep his job.

personally, I think he's out barring a crazy explosion from the youth that energizes the fanbase. and if that happens, we'll probably forget how much we dislike Byron right now.

 

If they fire him and get blatt. Im done.

 

I'm curious, is there anything that Byron can do in order to win back the fans? Or has that ship sailed?

 

That ship has sailed. We can go undefeated the rest of the season and I'd still want him gone.

 

Compiling a 9-41 record with a relatively healthy roster sprinkled with proven vets is not enough of a trial???

 

jim buss has answered A three times now

and if they hire blatt i'm done being a fan