The Byron Scott era is officially over for the Los Angeles Lakers. The team has parted ways with the head coach on Sunday after two disappointing seasons and now the search for a new leader on the sideline is underway.
There’s been a lot of speculation leading up to Scott’s dismal with plenty of notable names mentioned as potential replacements. Luke Walton continues to be a candidate linked to the team and could turn out to be the Lakers’ top target, but apparently there’s quite a long list of candidates, according to Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times:
Lakers expected to compile a "long list" of coaching candidates to replace Scott. “It’ll be a lot,” said a person familiar with the process.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) April 25, 2016
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As expected, Walton is on the list of coaching candidates along with a few others that have been linked with other coaching vacancies around the league recently, via Bresnahan:
Lakers coaching list has about a dozen candidates, including Luke Walton, Ettore Messina, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) April 25, 2016
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With Kobe Bryant retired and Scott no longer with the team, the Lakers brass will do their due diligence in making the right moves heading into the NBA offseason. The team is less than a month away from learning their fate in the NBA Draft during the NBA Draft Lottery on May 17 and face even more uncertainty without a head coach.
Although no deadline has been set by General Manager Mitch Kupchak or any other member of the team’s front office, the Lakers brass may want to move quickly in hopes of hiring the best coach available. NBA free agency begins on July 1 and showing stability with a plan for the future will be crucial to the team’s success in luring big-name free agents like Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan and Al Horford to Los Angeles.