Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak spoke about the firing of Byron Scott during a press conference earlier today, as the team’s Twitter feed relays. “If you’re going to make a change, make a change now.” Kupchak said. “This was clearly just a basketball decision. … Jim [Buss] and I agreed 100 percent.”
There’s more from Los Angeles:
- The Lakers have received permission to interview Spurs assistant Ettore Messina, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. It is unclear how soon they intend to bring Messina in for a meeting.
- The Lakers intend to put a long list together of potential candidates for their head coaching vacancy, which will be headed by Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton, Messina, and UConn’s Kevin Ollie, team sources tell Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. Ding believes that Walton is the obvious choice for the position.
- Earlier today, it was reported that Ollie has interest in the Lakers‘ job, but he would want a say in personnel decisions. That’s something that’s unlikely to happen, argues Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Pincus points out that the team isn’t in position to give out any sort of control in the front office with Kupchak and Buss around, and the team’s structure isn’t expected to change until after the 2016/17 season, at the earliest.
- The timing of Scott’s dismissal is curious, opines Chris Mannix of The Vertical. Mannix wonders whether Los Angeles could have landed Tom Thibodeau or Scott Brooks if the team had acted sooner. Brooks reportedly would have had interest in the position.
Anything Kupchak says is just a regurgitation of something Jim Buss told him to say. We all know Kupchak is just good ole Jimmy Buss’ puppet. Jeanie….dear…. please for the love of Lakers Nation FIRE that no talent egotistical hack of a brother you have!! Or else just sell the team otherwise the Buss family legacy will be called the rise and FALL of the Lakers empire. Bring in Jerry West or sell the team to Magic Johnson either way please We beg you Jeanie do whats right, STOP the nepotism and FIRE JIM BUSS! Otherwise it doesnt matter who the new coach is going to be, he will doomed to fail. How can he trust the the front office as currently constructed.
We all agree 100% that Mitch and Jim need to fire themselves. C’mon Jeanie, get it done!
Scott’s coaching career has been a steady downward spiral since his days with the Nets in the early 2000s.
I know there’s a lot of loyalty to Kupchak in that organization for his past success, but the Lakers are making a mistake if they automatically dismiss coaches like Ollie or Thibodeau who want a say in front-office moves.