Former L.A. Laker Byron Scott's tenure as coach of the franchise he once played for, came to an end Sunday night. The 2008 Coach of the Year was fired only a week after telling reporters that he expected to return, effectively terminating the 4-year $17 million contract he signed in 2014, league sources have confirmed. The news comes at the completion of the worst season in team history, with a 17-65 record; a mark that outdid a 2014-2015 campaign that saw them win a dismal 21 games with him at the helm.
Scott had seen success early in his coaching career, leading the then New Jersey Nets to two NBA Finals series in his first three years with the organization. But the 55-year-old Utah native would fail to replicate his run with the Nets, bringing only two Hornets teams to the playoffs before being shut out of the post-season with the Cavs and most recently, the Lakers, over the proceeding 12 seasons. His overall record of 454 wins with 647 losses is a stark contrast to the fortune the 3-time champion experienced as a member of the great Showtime era of 80's L.A. teams.
As the team continues on in their post-Kobe building phase they now face bringing a replacement aboard who can cultivate young talent. Scott was criticized often for the regular benching of their two most recent first round picks [De'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle]. He also took heat for a lack of planning around analytics and for the degree of autonomy he gave a declining Kobe Bryant to shoot. Both Scott and Bryant leave the team to venture in a fresh direction in their parting.
Source: espn.go.com
