Byron Scott Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Kobe, Young, Scott, Warriors

June 18th, 2014 at 9:48pm CST by Alex Lee

In Brazil taking in the World Cup, Kobe Bryant indicated on Brazilian television that his knee is fully healthy and he is working tirelessly to ensure the Lakers bounce back from what was a difficult year, writes Eric Pincus of the L.A. Times. “We only have three players from last year’s team signed to contracts right now, including me. We don’t have a coach. It’s literally like starting from scratch,” said Bryant, who also reiterated his intent to play only two more years in the NBA.

Here is more news from the Pacific division:

Bryant presumably did not count Nick Young, who is likely to opt out of his deal, among the three players under contract with the Lakers. Speaking to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, Young said on Wednesday that he would prefer to stay with the Lakers and would be willing to take a hometown discount if the team offered him “more years.” Medina believes the team likes Young, but is unlikely to offer role-player types more than a one year deal in hopes of preserving cap space.
Both Bryant and Young are surely paying close attention to the team’s coaching search. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio reports (via Twitter) that all indications are that Byron Scott is the leading candidate to become the Lakers next head coach.
There were whispers on Wednesday that the Warriors might be willing to part with Harrison Barnes and David Lee in exchange for Tyson Chandler, according to Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News, who staunchly opposes the deal from Golden State’s perspective and quickly dismissed any possibility of it materializing.

Rambis, Gentry, Scott Top Lakers Coaching List

June 11th, 2014 at 10:12am CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers have identified Kurt Rambis, Alvin Gentry and Byron Scott as the primary candidates in their search for a head coach, sources tell Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Scott had his second interview with the club on Tuesday, though it appears the Lakers aren’t quite ready to rule out other candidates, since they apparently have reached out to representatives of Nate McMillan. The Lakers have interviewed Mike Dunleavy and Lionel Hollins in addition to Rambis, Gentry and Scott.

Another Tuesday report indicated that the Knicks received permission from the Lakers to interview Rambis, an assistant coach with the purple-and-gold. There’s also dispute over whether Rambis’ discussion with the Lakers about the head coaching vacancy constituted an interview, though given the long history Rambis has with the Lakers organization, it seems like a formal interview wouldn’t be necessary.

Gentry, currently a Clippers assistant, is set for a second interview with the Cavs, the only other NBA team still without a head coach. Scott is apparently the only candidate to get a second interview with the Lakers so far as the team takes a slow approach to its search. Mike D’Antoni resigned April 30th, so the position has remained open for nearly a month and a half.

Byron Scott Has Second Interview With Lakers

June 10th, 2014 at 7:23pm CST by Cray Allred

Byron Scott interviewed with the Lakers for a second time today, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. Scott is the only candidate to receive a second interview to this point. Scott had expressed enthusiasm and optimism about his chances to land the job following his first discussions with Los Angeles.

Scott’s progression in the interview process isn’t necessarily a sign that he’s significantly closer to landing the job. After the Lakers planned to “make a splash” with a big name hire soon after Mike D’Antoni‘s resignation, they have shown a commitment to taking a patient approach in the hiring process. The Lakers are in no rush to select their next coach, and a report from yesterday suggests they could wait until after they pursue marquee free agents in the offseason to move forward with a hire.

Scott is a well known, popular coaching veteran as evidenced by our reader poll that ranked him as the second best coaching prospect for Los Angeles. Scott guided the Nets to two Finals appearances early in his coaching career and took New Orleans into the playoffs in consecutive seasons later in his career, but still sports a 416-521 overall coaching record thanks to losing seasons every other year. Scott’s Cavs teams never produced more than 24 wins in his most recent three-year stint as an NBA coach.

Lakers To Interview Lionel Hollins

May 27th, 2014 at 5:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

TUESDAY, 5:35pm: Hollins’ interview with L.A. is scheduled for this Thursday, and he will also interview with the Cavs sometime next week, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News.

SUNDAY, 12:38pm: Lionel Hollins has emerged as a candidate for the Lakers vacant head coaching position, and team management plans to interview Hollins later this week, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The team has already interviewed Mike Dunleavy and Byron Scott for the opening left by the resignation of former coach Mike D’Antoni. This will make Hollins the first candidate to sit down with the team who doesn’t have a history with the organization, notes Wojnarowski.

Hollins has coached in parts of seven seasons, all with the Grizzlies, and has a career coaching record of 214-201 in 415 total games. In his final season with Memphis in 2013, Hollins won 56 games and lost in the Western Conference finals to the Spurs. Hollins’ career postseason record is 18-17.

One thing that sets Hollins apart from many of the other candidates being mentioned for the Lakers position is that Hollins is primarily a defensive-minded coach, which is in stark contrast to the “showtime” basketball the Lakers have been known for throughout the years. The team might be banking on Hollins’ serious-minded leadership style appealing to Kobe Bryant, writes Wojnarowski.

Coaching Rumors: Scott, Gentry, Grizzlies

May 24th, 2014 at 8:42am CST by Cray Allred

Chip Scoggins of The Star Tribune thinks Dave Joerger, who is interviewing to leave the Grizzlies and become the Wolves head coach, could bring the defensive focus and toughness Minnesota has lacked. Scogging also opines that Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders could find an outlet for his lingering coaching energy by grooming a young coach like Joerger. Here’s more from the coaching movement around the league:

Byron Scott said he thinks he’s the perfect guy for the Lakers job in an interview with ESPNLA 710 Radio (transcription via Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com). Scott invoked his relationships with Kobe Bryant and Dr. Jerry Buss to bolster his case. “It’s all about winning championships,” said Scott. “And [winning for Buss]…he was the first one to call me and tell me, ‘When you come to L.A., let me know so we can hang out and watch a game together,’ and things like that. Those two reasons alone is one big reason why I want the job so badly.”
Scott also laid out what his first steps would be on the job, including getting on the same page with Bryant and emphasizing defense. “I think that’s the first thing [we’ve got] to get better at, the defensive part of basketball,” Scott said. In Scott’s most recent coaching stint in Cleveland, the Cavs never ranked better than 26th in defensive efficiency.
Alvin Gentry is coveted by both Steve Kerr and Mike Malone as an assistant for their Warriors and Kings benches, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. The former head coach is currently an assistant with the Clippers, and is a head coaching candidate for the Cavs, Grizzlies, and Jazz.
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com thinks that bringing Lionel Hollins back to coach the Grizzlies makes a lot of sense, considering the main difference between the team now and when he guided it to the Western Conference Finals is that the front office members that fired him are gone.

Lakers Interview Byron Scott

May 22nd, 2014 at 12:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 12:01pm: Scott confirmed that the interview took place, as he said this morning on SiriusXM NBA Radio with Frank Isola and Malik Rose, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Scott spoke with co-owner Jim Buss as well as GM Mitch Kupchak, while rival Lakers coaching candidate Mike Dunleavy interviewed only with Kupchak, Medina points out.

“I had a great time talking with those guys,” Scott said. “Obviously I go way back with Mitch. We were teammates for a while and won a couple of championships together, so it was good. That’s basically all I can tell you. It was good, I had a lot of fun talking to them. Hopefully we’ll be talking again soon and we’ll see what happens.”

WEDNESDAY, 8:14am: The Lakers interviewed Byron Scott for their head coaching position on Tuesday, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Scott is one of the many candidates being considered to replace former coach Mike D’Antoni.

In 13 seasons as a head coach, Scott has a record of 416-521. He last coached the Cavaliers during the 2012/13 season, leading the team to a 24-58 record before being fired.

It’s likely that Jerry Buss would have hired Scott as the Lakers head coach instead of Mike Brown when Phil Jackson retired in 2011, writes Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. But Scott was coaching the Cavs at the time.

Mike Dunleavy, who is also a candidate, interviewed with GM Mitch Kupchak as well, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPN.com.

Coaching Rumors: Joerger, Scott, Lakers

May 19th, 2014 at 7:15pm CST by Cray Allred

The recently fired Mark Jackson returned to ESPN for the NBA playoffs and he’s not the only talker turned coach/GM turned talker again, the Detroit Free Press staff writes. Longtime Bears coach Mike Ditka was fired in 1992, signed on with NBC, left to coach the Saints in 1997, and eventually came to ESPN. Staying in the NBA, Doug Collins, now with ESPN, knows a thing or two about going back and forth from the booth to the sidelines as well. Here’s more from around the league:

The sense in coaching circles is that Dave Joerger would become a head coaching candidate for the Wolves if he were to be let go by the Grizzlies, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Stein notes that Joerger is a long-time associate of Minnesota president of basketball operations Flip Saunders.
Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times has heard that the Lakers haven’t and won’t open formal talks with any coaches before the lottery, but they have put out feelers for some (Twitter link).
In another tweet, Pincus says it’s safe to consider Byron Scott a fallback coaching option for the Lakers, presuming that Scott will be around no matter how lengthy L.A.’s process becomes.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Coaching Rumors: Ollie, Jackson, Scott

May 8th, 2014 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

There probably won’t be 13 coaching changes like last offseason, but with vacancies on high-profile teams like the Lakers and Knicks and plenty of disharmony surrounding Mark Jackson‘s dismissal from the Warriors, there’s no shortage of chatter. Here’s the latest:

University of Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie still hasn’t heard from any NBA teams about their openings, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM. Ollie is nonetheless likely to start talks with NBA teams if his negotiations about a new deal with the school don’t bear fruit, Charania adds (Twitter links).
Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group believes race played a role, if not the deciding role, in the Warriors‘ firing of Jackson, whether or not co-owner Joe Lacob and the front office intended it. The cultural and racial divide led to misunderstandings and discomfort, Thompson argues.
It’s a “safe assumption” that late Lakers owner Jerry Buss would have hired Byron Scott as head coach in 2010 had he not already been coaching the Cavs, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes, making the case for Scott as the most logical Lakers hire this year.

Coaching Rumors: Jackson, Warriors, Kerr

May 6th, 2014 at 8:51pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Warriors cut ties with Mark Jackson today, and rumors have already started swirling about potential fits for the now vacant coaching spot in Golden State. Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders rounds up the situation and discusses possible candidates and also suggests a few teams that might be wise to seek out Jackson’s services. Here’s the latest on Jackson, Kerr, and the Lakers coaching search:

Brian Scalabrine was also dismissed from Warriors, reports Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area (via Twitter). Scalabrine had been an assistant coach with Golden State under Jackson before a mid-season demotion sent him to their D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Kerr was expected to begin talks with the Knicks about a coaching role yesterday, but there have still been no contact between the two sides, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. There’s a strong chance Kerr has a conversation with the Warriors about taking on the head coaching role in Golden State, but his preference remains New York, says Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

Earlier updates:

The Knicks haven’t called Jackson about their head coaching position, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
It’s very unlikely the Timberwolves have any interest in bringing Jackson aboard, passes along Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (on Twitter).
The Pistons should consider hiring Jackson in Detroit, even though it wouldn’t be a cheap acquisition, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Goodwill points to Jackson’s ability to earn his players’ respect as a particularly valuable trait.
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com discusses the likelihood that Steve Kerr chooses to take on head coaching duties for the Warriors rather than the Knicks. Both teams are reportedly interested in Kerr, but Begley concludes that Phil Jackson‘s presence in New York will give the Knicks an edge in their pursuit.
Kerr’s college coach, Lute Olson, also sees the Knicks as the front-runner to land Kerr, even after Jackson’s dismissal in Golden State, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Lakers management is taking a slow approach to its coaching search, but Kobe Bryant and Byron Scott have talked in the past few weeks, notes Chris Broussard of ESPN during an interview on the Mike & Mike Show (Audio link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Lawrence On D’Antoni, Gasol, Calipari, Sterling

May 3rd, 2014 at 2:12pm CST by Charlie Adams

Mike D’Antoni walked away from the Lakers due in part because the team is likely to attempt to re-sign Pau Gasol this summer, reports Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. A source tells Lawrence that D’Antoni knew that Gasol and Kobe Bryant didn’t want to play for him, so he made the decision to resign from the team on Wednesday. Let’s have a look at some more interesting notes from Lawrence’s piece:

Kurt Rambis and Byron Scott are two of the most viable candidates for the Lakers’ coaching job, hears Lawrence. We reported on Thursday that both Rambis and Scott are set to interview with the team.
Despite rumored interest, Lawrence says there’s no chance John Calipari will become the next head coach for the Lakers. The team reportedly has “zero interest” in hiring Calipari.
Stan Van Gundy was contacted about taking over the head coaching role for the Pistons, but talks didn’t get far because he wanted some level of control over the team’s personnel decisions, writes Lawrence.
Lawrence hears that once Adam Silver meets with Donald Sterling, Silver is expected to tell Sterling that the league will battle him in court to see that the franchise is sold, no matter the resistance Sterling puts up.
Knicks assistant GM Allan Houston and director of player personnel Mark Warkentien aren’t worried about their jobs, since the duo has contracts with owner Jim Dolan and not the Knicks specifically, says Lawrence. As a result, the pair will be able to retain their positions, even if Phil Jackson doesn’t want them around.
The Cavs and Bucks still haven’t decided whether or not they’ll keep their general managers beyond this season, reveals Lawrence. Both Central Division teams failed to meet preseason expectations and finished well below .500.
It’s likely Mark Jackson will be fired by the Warriors, suggests Lawrence, who adds the coach might have a hard time landing another job with an NBA team because of the perceived dysfunction in Golden State’s organization during his tenure.
The Thunder could potentially see a first-round playoff exit tonight, but Lawrence says Scott Brooks‘ position is safe in Oklahoma City.