Byron Scott (Photo : Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers are heading into the offseason with plenty of issues to address, which will surely include the possibility of changing the team's coach.
The Lakers may not just be looking at tinkering their lineup this summer via free agency or trade, but the Purple and Gold could also be considering a replacement for Byron Scott, who misguided LA to the worst regular season record in franchise history with 17 wins and 65 losses.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak will have a big decision to make of whether to keep Scott for the next season or look for a replacement as part of the team's attempt to get back in the NBA map. Kupchak believes Scott has done an "excellent job," citing the past two seasons the latter took over as a head coach as an adjustment period.
"I think Byron has done an excellent job under the circumstances that he's had to deal with the last two years," Kupchak said, reports the Los Angeles Times. "This year in particular was a difficult year for a coach to wade his way through."
It is worth noting that the Lakers were indeed messy in the past two season, no thanks to injuries that plagued the team in the 2014-2015 campaign and the inexperience squad they have this season.
However, those do not are not enough reasons for the Lakers to ponder about Scott's future with the team, especially if a coaching would mean a chance to lure top free agents like Kevin Durant this summer.
According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, the Lakers should consider looking at free agent coaches like Scott Brooks, who could be a huge factor in signing Durant once the market opens.
"Brooks, according to people close to the 2010 NBA Coach of the Year, has interest in a position with the Lakers should it become available. A number of teams are expected to pursue Kevin Durant's former coach (and Durant himself), including the Washington Wizards," Pincus wrote.
"The Oklahoma City All-Star will be a free agent this July; teammate Russell Westbrook will be available in 2017. If Brooks gives the Lakers an edge at landing either All-Star, or both, that's the move to make."
Brooks seems the best available coach there is to take over the Lakers' post-Kobe Bryant Era. Prior to getting fired as head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Brooks have handled young talents well in Durant and Russell Westbrook and guided the team to an NBA Finals appearance back in the 2011-2012 season.
Brooks would fit well managing the Lakers' core of young talents in a coaching style more suitable for a youthful squad than Scott's old-school approach.
However, Scott still has two years left in his $17 million with the Lakers and his close ties with the Buss family makes his position, somehow, secured. But the Lakers had done it before in Mike Brown and Mike D'Antoni, and Scott could be next if LA really want to turn things around.
