With the free agency decisions of Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James still uncertain, the Los Angeles Lakers have held off their coaching search in an effort to make Los Angeles a more appealing destination.
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On Wednesday, Kobe Bryant spoke to the media for the first time in quite awhile. Kobe was in Santa Barbara for his annual basketball camp and took many different questions including whether he’d like Byron Scott to be the next Lakers head coach.
Kobe didn’t hesitate to say the following about his former teammate being his next coach via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Is Byron someone you'd like to see Kobe coach the Lakers next season? "Ya." – Kobe
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) July 9, 2014
The veteran guard also talked about when Scott was his mentor during his rookie year in Los Angeles back during the 1996-97 NBA season via Winters:
Kobe on Byron Scott: "He was my rookie mentor when I first came into the league" Says he had to get donuts for him and run errands for him
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) July 9, 2014
With Carmelo and LeBron likely to make their decisions in free agency within the next 24 hours or so, the Lakers brass could also hire their next coach in the very near future. Obviously, Kobe is all-in on the prospect of hiring Scott, but it remains to be seen if that is the direction the team goes in moving forward.
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Another candidate the Lakers could consider for their coaching vacancy is Mike Dunleavy. Lionel Hollins and Kurt Rambis were also getting a lot of consideration in Los Angeles, but both have since taken coaching positions elsewhere.
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Kobe Bryant On Lakers Free Agency, Plan B
