It has been just over five weeks since Mike D’Antoni resigned as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, and only a handful of candidates have been interviewed for the vacant position.
Los Angeles has made it clear that they intend to hire someone with previous NBA head coaching experience, though the amount of time it may take is still unknown.
Mike Dunleavy, Kurt Rambis and Byron Scott are among the names linked to the job. Rambis is the worst candidate for the position. All the proof one needs to validate that is the 32-132 record he accumulated in his two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Not to mention, it was rumored that it would kill any hope that the Lakers have of landing Kevin Love. With that being said, Mike Dunleavy would not be much better than Rambis. Fans would dislike Dunleavy just as much, if not more, than D’Antoni.
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Byron Scott is a better option for Los Angeles than those two, although the Lakers could do considerably better. Yes, Scott knows “the Laker way” but that is not the reason you hand someone the reigns to one of the most popular teams in all of sports.
During his time in New Jersey, Scott only had success with the Nets after the arrival of Jason Kidd. The Eastern Conference was also noticeably weak while Scott coached the Nets, making it easier to accrue wins. His tenure with New Orleans was rocky until 2008 when he won Coach of the Year on the shoulders of Chris Paul’s near MVP season. The team began to decline after that season, leading to Scott being fired early into the 2009-2010 season. He then coached the Cavaliers for three disastrous years, although Cleveland had just been devastated by the departure of LeBron James. That combined with the incompetency of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise makes it hard to point the blame solely at Byron Scott.
Despite all of that, Scott seems to be the fan favorite of all the candidates that have discussed the job with general manager Mitch Kupchak and the rest of Laker management. However, there is another option that would be more ideal for not only the team’s immediate success, but also developing whichever prospect the Lakers draft with the seventh pick. That man would be Lionel Hollins.
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Lakers Likely Draft Candidates
PAGE 2: Why Lionel Hollins Is The Best Coaching Candidate For Lakers Draft Pick
