LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Three months after coach Mike D’Antoni resigned, the struggling Los Angeles Lakers are expected to offer former player Byron Scott the job, multiple media outlets reported yesterday.
According to ESPN and the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers have begun contract negotiations with Scott and are likely to reach an agreement within the next few days.
Scott, 53, was a three-time NBA champion with the Lakers during their triumphant ‘Showtime’ era in the 1980s and has worked as a head coach in the league for 13 years, most recently with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He was fired by the Cavaliers on April 18, 2013 after compiling a record of 64-166 during his three seasons in charge, and has since worked as an analyst for the Lakers’ television broadcast partner, TWC SportsNet.
Scott, the NBA’s coach of the year in 2008 after his first winning season as head coach of the New Orleans Hornets, has been given a ringing endorsement by standout Lakers player Kobe Bryant, a five-time NBA champion.
The pair played together in Los Angeles during the 1996-97 season when Bryant made his debut in the league, and he described Scott as a “rookie mentor” who made him fetch donuts and run various other errands.
“We’ve had a tremendously close relationship over the years,” Bryant told reporters earlier this month.
