Just over two months ago, Byron Scott was confident when asked about his chances of coaching the Los Angeles Lakers, claiming that “I think that person is me.”
It appears that confidence has finally paid off.
Scott agreed to a four-year, $17 million contract to be the next head coach of the Lakers, sources told ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne early Sunday morning.
“It feels fantastic,” Scott told Los Angeles television station KCBS-TV, via ESPN. “This is a dream come true. I always wanted to coach the Lakers, especially when I got to coaching. It’s so unreal. I have to thank [general manager] Mitch [Kupchak], Jeanie and Jim Buss to give me this opportunity.”
The 53-year-old appeared to emerge as a front-runner for the position late last week after meeting with Lakers co-owner Jerry Buss on Thursday.
Scott is very familiar with the Los Angeles organization, having won three NBA championships during his 10-year stint with the “Showtime”-era Lakers. He also worked all of last season as an analyst for the team’s television station, Time Warner Cable SportsNet.
Prior to his stint in TV, Scott spent three years as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he led the team to an abysmal 64-166 record and missed the NBA playoffs in all three seasons. Scott will hope to turn his fortunes around in Los Angeles, but he’ll have his work cut out for him with a Lakers team that finished second-to-last in the Western Conference last season with a 27-55 record.
