Byron Scott sees swift title contention for Lakers
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Byron Scott was a key component of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Showtime teams, a smooth shooting guard with sizzling competitive fire. He believes his purple-and-gold championship pedigree makes him the ideal coach to return the struggling 16-time champions to NBA contention.
“This organization is all about championships, period,” Scott said Tuesday at his introductory news conference. “We don’t look at Western Conference finals, Western Conference championships. We look at (NBA) championships. And we know we have some work ahead of us, but I’m excited. … I love challenges … this is going to be fun.”
Scott’s fellow Lakers greats are already backing that notion. Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jamaal Wilkes surprised Scott before he was formally named the 25th coach in franchise history, standing behind him in a towering show of support.
In fact, Scott hadn’t even said a word before Magic took the microphone and praised his longtime backcourt mate.
“We wish we could put the uniform on for you and help you, but we will support you,” Johnson said. “Congratulations to the Lakers organization. You chose the right guy.”
The Lakers’ history is both the strength at Scott’s back and the specter looming over his shoulder.
The Lakers are coming off their worst season in Los Angeles, and their hodgepodge roster is built around soon-to-be 36-year-old Kobe Bryant, who is coming off major injuries as the NBA’s highest-paid player. Title contention seems distant to most pragmatic folks, particularly in the tough Western Conference.
But don’t tell that to Scott.
“I don’t see this as a long process,” he said. “This is Los Angeles. It’s still one of the best organizations in all of sports. Still got a ton of people that would love to play for this organization, and you’ve got (former Lakers) sitting in the front row that are very adamant about that. They’re all advocates for this organization, so I don’t think it’s going to take long.”
Scott and Bryant have stayed close since they played together in Bryant’s rookie season. Scott acknowledged Bryant “has to be a little patient.”