Byron Scott is just entering the second year of his four-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Although he's coming off one of the most dismaying seasons in franchise's decorated history, the future is certainly brighter ahead of him with a collection of promising young players and a huge cap space (projected to be around $56 million) next summer.
Still, these circumstances wouldn't get him off the hook in case the Lakers zonked out again this coming season. The Lakers head coaching job has been the most precarious position in the past five years, and it will stay like that as long as goals aren't met.
Eric Saar of Basketball Insiders thinks Scott is one of several coaches on the hot seat entering the 2015-16 season. There's no doubt Scott is a veteran bench tactician with a proven track record, but working for a team that has ridiculously high expectations despite being pitted in a brutal Western Conference makes his tenure in Hollywood anything but secured.
Via Basketball Insiders:
"Scott is a veteran coach, but he currently works for the Los Angeles Lakers and they've been known to fire coaches at a moment's notice. In recent years, Los Angeles has paid Mike Brown and Mike D'Antoni to NOT coach the Lakers. They even fired Coach Brown five games into the 2012-13 seasons."
"While it seems like the Lakers might have some patience with the somewhat young Lakers squad and Coach Scott, you never know with the Lakers. Scott has also been criticized for some of his old-school (to put it nicely) strategies."
The Lakers aren't going to make the playoffs next season, though they are nevertheless a much more improved squad, thanks to their acquisition of some veterans (Roy Hibbert, Brandon Bass and Louis Williams) and a crop of promising young players led by 2015 NBA Draft no.2 overall pick D'Angelo Russell.
Yet, expectation remains high for Scott to guide the Lakers to relevance, if not in the thick of the playoff race. Failing to reach these goals could spell trouble for Scott simply because the Lakers are notorious of pulling the rug under coaches who achieved underwhelming results (just ask Mike Brown and Mike D'Antoni). Add the availability of elite coaches like Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks in the market, and Scott is now facing an immense pressure to deliverer.