LAKERS HIRE BYRON SCOTT

The Lakers have agreed to a contract with Byron Scott to be their next head coach for 4 years and $17,000,000 with a team option on the 4th year. “It feels fantastic,” he told KCBS-TV. “This is a dream come true. I always wanted to coach the Lakers, especially when I got to coaching. It’s so unreal. I have to thank Mitch, Jeanie and Jim Buss to give me this opportunity.” Scott has been the leading candidate from the get-go, he won three championships with the team as a player, his friendship with Kobe, and his in-depth knowledge of the roster after being an analyst for the team. The Lakers also considered Mike Dunleavy, Kurt Rambis, Alvin Gentry, Lionel Hollins and George Karl but Hollins went to Brooklyn, Gentry to Golden State and Rambis fled to NYC narrowing LA’s options.

Kobe said of his relationship with Scott: “He was my rookie mentor when I first came into the league, so I had to do things like get his doughnuts and run errands for him and things like that. We’ve had a tremendously close relationship throughout the years. So, obviously, I know him extremely well. He knows me extremely well. I’ve always been a fan of his.”