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Scott to be new Lakers coach
THE Los Angeles Lakers have waited nearly three months to hire a new coach, and they’re apparently making Byron Scott wait a few more days.
Scott, who won three National Basketball Association titles as a shooting guard for the Lakers, told a Los Angeles television station this weekend that he has been hired by the team, which hasn’t had a coach since Mike D’Antoni resigned on April 30.
“It feels fantastic,” he told KCBS. “This is a dream come true. I always wanted to coach the Lakers, especially when I got to coaching. It’s so unreal.”
Yet Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak and owners Jeanie and Jim Buss remained quiet on Sunday, extending their strange coach-less summer to the final days of July.
Sports website ESPN.com first reported Scott would take over the Lakers with a four-year, US$17 million contract.
Scott is undoubtedly qualified for the job after stints as a head coach with New Jersey, New Orleans and Cleveland. He was Kobe Bryant’s teammate during Bryant’s rookie year with the Lakers in 1996-97, and the superstar endorsed Scott for the job earlier this month.
“He was my rookie mentor when I first came in the league, so I had to do things like get him doughnuts and run errands for him, things like that,” said Bryant, who played just six games during an injury-marred 2013-14 season. “We’ve had a tremendously close relationship throughout the years.”
Los Angeles finished 27-55 last season, compiling the most losses in the 16-time NBA champions’ history. The Lakers also missed the playoffs for just the third time in 38 seasons.
Scott will be the Lakers’ fifth head coach in just over three years, starting with Phil Jackson’s departure after the 2010-11 season. D’Antoni, who replaced Mike Brown and interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff, resigned after going 67-87 in less than two seasons in charge.
Scott has been a head coach for parts of 13 NBA seasons, going 416-521 with the Nets, Hornets and Cavaliers.
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