Byron Scott Tells Jim Hill That He And Lakers Have Come To Agreement To Coach Team
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Although the Lakers have yet to confirm the deal, Byron Scott told CBS2/KCAL9 Sports Director Jim Hill that he and the Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to terms for Scott to coach the team.
According to reports, the deal is 4-years, $17 million.
"It feels fantastic," said Scott to Hill. "This is a dream come true. I always wanted to coach the Lakers, especially when I got to coaching. Its so unreal. I have to thank Mitch[Kupchack], Jeanie and Jim Buss to give me this opportunity."
The head coaching position has been vacant since Mike D'Antoni's resignation three months ago.
Before negotiations began, Scott interviewed three separate times before finally agreeing to terms with the team he played with for 10 years.
"I really believe that they wanted to do the diligence and to make sure that I was the right guy," added Scott. "I know there were other candidates out there, and I felt like that with each meeting I thought was better and better, and I felt like they had a better understanding of what I was all about. I thought that the last few hires in their minds, they were a little hasty with, and so on this one, they took their time to make sure I was the right guy for this situation. Again, I think it worked out well for both sides."
Scott won three rings as a player, and would be the third member of the showtime Lakers to get a shot as the head coach.
Scott would be the 25th coach for the Purple and Gold and the fourth coach after Phil Jackson's final year with the Lakers in 2011.
Kobe Bryant, who signed the two-year, $48.5 million extension, has always been in favor of bringing Scott to Los Angeles, and even had constant contact with him throughout the whole summer.
"Kobe and I have a great relationship, and we have been talking about this for almost the entire summer," said Scott. "I am excited to have the privilege of coaching a guy like that. This is a future Hall of Famer, we all know that, and I feel that he is going to be helping me as well because we see the game in a very similar way. We know that we have to get it done on the defensive end first, and he knows right now, in the last stage of his career, that he is going to have to do some things differently. I love the fact that people keep doubting that this man is going to come back and play great, because I know in my heart, and knowing him the way I do, that he loves those type of challenges. I am looking forward to having Kobe as a guy that I can turn to and say 'lets get the ball to this guy and he can make things happen.'"
Scott last sat on the bench as the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2010 to 2013, where he struggled with a young roster following the departure of superstar LeBron James to the Miami Heat.
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