The Los Angeles Lakers recently fired former player Byron Scott as the team’s head coach after an abysmal 17-65 record this past season, which was the second-worst mark in the NBA.
According ESPN’s Ramon Shelburne, another ex-Laker is interested in becoming the team’s new head coach.
“Sources indicate Derek Fisher has interest in the Lakers job,” Shelburne wrote. “Obviously, Laker front office still compiling their list and gauging interest from potential candidates after Byron Scott wasn’t retained Sunday night.”
Fisher would be a horrible hire for the Lakers. He won five championships as a Lakers point guard, but a successful playing career doesn’t always translate to competent coaching.
Fisher was hired by the New York Knicks as their head coach before the 2014-15 campaign, and he was fired in February after compiling a 40-96 record in about one-and-a-half seasons.
Plain and simple, Fisher isn’t a good coach. The Lakers would be better off hiring a veteran with several years of head-coaching experience who can help develop a young roster with potential building blocks in D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle.
A coach with minimal experience who already failed in a rebuilding situation likely would prolong the Lakers’ struggles — they’ve missed the playoffs in three straight seasons for the first time in team history.
Thumbnail photo via Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports Images
