While it may have taken some time for the Los Angeles Lakers to make a decision, the team decided to part ways with head coach Byron Scott this off-season. What took less time was finding a replacement as it took the Lakers less than one week before they came to an agreement with Luke Walton.
As the Lakers took their time to make a decision two of the highest-profile coaching names took jobs elsewhere in Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks, which led some to assume that Scott would indeed be returning for a third season.
That obviously turned out not to be the case and in an interview on The Dan Patrick Show, Scott said that he was blindsided by the decision as transcribed by Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Byron Scott on the Lakers deciding to part ways, said he “was a little blindsided,” though he holds no ill-will (on the @dpshow).
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) May 2, 2016
Scott believed that he and the Lakers front office were on the same page as far as how long it would take to rebuild the Lakers via Winters:
Byron said he felt Jim Buss & Kupchak gave him confidence they were “on the same page as far as how long a rebuild would take.” (on @dpshow)
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) May 2, 2016
Scott may have been blindsided by the decision, but many believe the Lakers made the right choice in getting rid of Scott and are excited about what Walton will bring to the team now that he is in charge.
No one will deny the difficult job that Scott had in balancing the young players’ development with Kobe’s retirement tour. Scott still has thoughts on those young guys, and D’Angelo Russell, in particular, but now he simply must make those comments from afar.
