Byron Scott May Not Be L.A. Lakers’ Long-Term Answer, but He Doesn’t Have to Be

It was only a matter of time until Byron Scott became head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, as ESPN's Chris Broussard first reported Scott will soon be. He probably would've been in 2011, when Phil Jackson retired, had Scott not already subsumed himself in the Cleveland Cavaliers' between-two-LeBrons mess. 

Three years later, Scott's slip into the Lakers' top job looks more inevitable than ever.

He'd already occupied a comfortable seat in the studio for the team's TV broadcasts. Not once did his name come up in consideration for all the other openings across the NBA this summer. All the while, the rest of the Lakers' targets (i.e. Lionel Hollins, Quin Snyder, Derek Fisher, Alvin Gentry, etc.) jumped on offers elsewhere as L.A. slow-played its hiring process.

Nobody other than Scott was granted a third interview. Heck, by the time Scott came in for that third sit-down with Lakers brass, all the other openings around the league had been filled.

It's no wonder, then, that Scott's return to the sidelines in L.A. feels more like a marriage of convenience than an honest-to-goodness love affair. But while Scott may not be the feet-sweeping romancer the Lakers want, he could be the steady beau they need to guide them through their current doldrums—if not more than that.

Any talk of the Lakers' present and immediate future would seem to include a contractual obligation to consider Kobe Bryant—and rightfully so.

He's one of the greatest Lakers ever—arguably the greatest, though that's a tough argument to win over Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—and still proudly wears purple and gold. His accomplishments as a Laker (i.e. five championships, one regular-season MVP, two Finals MVPs, 16 All-Star appearances, 15 All-NBA selections and the team's all-time scoring record) demand respect in and of themselves.

As does his current contract: two years, $48.5 milli...