Byron Scott is out as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. He leaves LA with no playoff appearances and lots of angst and controversy.
Where do the Lakers go from here? They missed an opportunity to sign coach Tom Thibodeau, who ended up in Minnesota. Could Phil Jackson be in the cards? If not, the Lakers are going to be a bad team for the foreseeable future.
I think the Lakers should try to make a run at Golden State’s assistant coach Luke Walton. He was a key cog in getting the Warriors to a 73-9 record. Although the Lakers don’t have as many good players as Golden State, I can still see Walton leading the Lakers back to respectability as early as 2016-17. The big three of Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, and D’Angelo Russell are solid players, and, if they keep their pick they owe to the Philadelphia 76ers, which I believe would be unprotected after ’16-17, the Lakers should select a center with their pick.
Back to coaching suggestion: If I were Jim Buss or Mitch Kupchak, I’d want a coach that preaches defense, effort, and discipline, and to a lesser extent, offense.
It’d be interesting to see how the Lakers improve next season.