Lakers Can't Talk To Byron Scott About Opening
CBSsports.com
Royce Young
Any time the greatest coach ever in a sport retires, finding a suitable replacement can be sort of difficult. Right now, there don't appear to be any serious lead as to who will replace Phil Jackson as the coach of the Lakers, but here's one guy that most definitely won't be: Byron Scott.
I guess fearing that Scott might take his talents to Hollwood, the Cavaliers will not allow Scott to talk with the Lakers, if it were requested by Laker general manager Mitch Kupchak, reports the Plain-Dealer.
Scott of course was a key part of the a few Laker teams in the 1980s and was always a fan favorite. He's had coaching successes in New Jersey and New Orleans, but endured quite a frustrating year in Cleveland this season. But that's not on Scott. That's on injuries and basically to put it bliuntly, a complete and brutal lack of talent.
Scott has three years left on his contract with the Cavaliers and doesn't have an opt-out clause written in, so he can't pull the plug and leave even if he wanted to. There's not necessarily any indication Scott was a serious candidate in the first place, but even if he was, he's not now.
On another front, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports, Laker assistant Brian Shaw, who is a favorite for the position, doesn't quite have a full endorsement from the team yet.
"A Lakers source also said that management and ownership are split on Shaw," the report says. "The Buss family, who owns the Lakers, has a reputation of keeping their coaching searches close to the vest."
The report also mentioned that one or maybe two members of the current coaching staff would get consideration, most likely meaning Shaw and assistant Jim Clemons.
The Lakers coaching search is an intriguing one because it's a storied franchise with a ready-made championship club in one of the league's brightest markets. Whoever gets that job better be ready for it. Maybe they should just like Kobe be a player-coach.
