Great Scott! Who will be the Lakers’ next coach?

Since the Zen Master left, it’s been the same old story line. The same questions. The same answers.

Who is going to take the reins and lead the team in the same type of manner that Phil Jackson had? How can the Lakers win with an aging shooting guard?

Defensive minded Mike Brown tried and failed only to be followed by Mike D’Antoni who was almost just about forced out. Obviously, nobody is going to be Phil or will ever match his historic resume but the Lakers are now searching for a head coach and this time they can’t afford to mess up.

Kobe Bryant only has a few years left to get his 6th ring so the head coaching position is more important than ever for the Lakers. By steve.lanctot (kb_0563cf) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Kobe Bryant only has a few years left in his career and he has made it clear that he wants to compete for a championship this coming season.

Lakers management already lost Phil to the Knicks, so fans and dreamers can stop considering that as a possibility.

Many names have been swirling throughout the media including George Karl, UNC’s Roy Williams, Derek Fisher, Lionel Hollins, Byron Scott and more but there are really only a few names that actually make sense for the direction the Lakers are headed.

What the Lakers need in order to bring them back to the glory that they have been used to is a coach who understands what it takes to win as a Laker. No more of these coaches who achieved success simply because of a system or a star player.

I think Byron Scott would be the right choice to at this juncture. Scott understands what it takes to be a Laker and what it takes to win in Los Angeles. He helped them win three titles in the 1980s and also has coaching experience in the NBA Finals, taking the Nets to the Finals in back-to-back years (2002,2003). He has also shown the ability to handle star players such as Jason Kidd and Chris Paul during his tenure in New Orleans.

Make it happen Mitch

Byron Scott makes perfect sense for the Lakers and hopefully management sees it that way as well. Kobe Bryant has endorsed Scott which is huge. Kobe didn’t have any say in the hiring of Brown or D’Antoni, and look how that turned out for the Lakers. The Lakers need a leader in this awkward time. I think Scott is their guy.