Fyron SCOTT: Los Angeles Lakers Coach Byron Scott needs to go

Are the Los Angeles Lakers Preparing to Fail?  What is the current status and culture IN and OUT of the Locker Room and BEYOND?

     My "fanship" of the Los Angeles Lakers began about the same time that Dr. Jerry Buss happened to take majority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers.  I consider that Luck.

"3-2-1...Kareem with the sky hook at the buzzer" was a regular part of my basketball shooting rituals as a kid.

I witnessed the beginning and end of now Coach Byron Scott's NBA Playing Career.  His High School ball was played not too far from mine.

He was second, after Michael Jordan, in shooting guards for me.  

This is not to say that I thought he was the second-best shooting guard next to that MJ.  This is to say that it was Michael because it WAS all about Jordan and because I was a Lakers fan I did NOT look any further than Morningside High School's own Byron Scott.

I developed the same technical shooting form and same type of play.  Byron Scott was a tough, hard-nosed and fundamentally correct player that played with some of the Greatest Collection of Talent the Lakers and the NBA have EVER seen.

So, for THOSE reasons and many others, it has been very difficult to watch this team... this franchise be run lower and lower on the rungs of NBA success.  Especially when they are used to the Championship RINGS of success.

Players, Teams, Franchises have ALL leap-frogged past the Lakers not JUST in the "win" column but in NBA Prestige and Stature.  

Speaking of Wins:

Precedent has been set within the organization.  The Cleveland CAVS, on January 22, 2016, decided to move in a different direction when they fired David Blatt who was at the helm of the East's Very Best Team and Record.

"What I see is that we need to build a collective spirit, a strength of spirit, a collective will," Griffin said. "Elite teams always have that, and you see it everywhere. To be truly elite, we have to buy into a set of values and principles that we believe in. That becomes our identity."
_David Griffin, Cleveland Cavaliers General Manager  (your move, Mitch...)

Hiring and Firing should NOT necessarily be based solely on WINS and Losses.  The franchise (Lakers) AND fans KNEW things would be rough given the injuries, moves (trades) gone wrong and now moving forward with draft picks.

But.. Is the current culture of the Lakers too far mired in misery to the point of players gathering in some sort of bond that creates mutiny?

I don't really know.

Is Byron motivating his players beyond the seemingly hard-nosed approach of benching guys like Nick Young so his effort might increase?

Byron's tactics in some of those isolated incidents will probably prove successful.  The decision to bring both  Russell and Randle off-the-bench made big news when that happened; but this has forced both of these players to PLAY better ball as a result.  However, these players, along with players like Tarik Black, Metta World Peace and Nick Young seem to be unhappy and something tells ME it is not JUST about the Losing.

When a Coach has to explain to the Media why he is NOT playing a player like Tarik Black that should say something, right?

His explanation was that he told Tarik that he wanted him to be more like Dennis Rodman and Ben Wallace and the reporters who sit in the locker room ACTUALLY Believe this garbage. 

( I already wrote and presented the statistical information on Tarik Black_ click HERE )

The stats show what Tarik does but ALL you really need to do is WATCH him play:

        This might sound silly but one thing that struck me as being curious is that ALL of the SPURS were wearing Shoes of their TEAM colors: SILVER/ BLACK / White

The Lakers had several players (seen in clip) that were wearing colors of the SPURS as well.  One thing is certain: Not ONE SPUR was wearing a gold or a purple and gold shoe and there is 

NO WAY Gregg Popovich would ever allow that to happen.  

Where is the discipline?  Where is the unity? 

 Where is the TEAM?

This gentleman (video) tells the story of Kareem, Wooden and how Coach John Wooden would have his team tie their shoes together.  You can  forward that clip to the 2:05 minute mark but I found that video useful to illustrate a few things.  

"John Wooden, the Coach of the Century (ESPN), first day of practice started with socks and SHOES."

This would make an impact on EVERY Bruin that played with him including Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Marques Johnson.

So, I don't care about their "RECORD" necessarily, I care how the TEAM is responding.  I care about their function and unity given the very best possible position to BE SUCCESSFUL.

And I CARE that this TEAM not coming out wearing all the same colors as their opponent and I care that more than ONE LAKER wore shoe colors of their opponent on game night.

SO...Back to the drawing board Lakers and..

+Los Angeles Lakers  (shouldn't Kobe have the shoe deal with his OWN TEAM?)

Start with the SHOES!




Then lose the manbuns, the head in hands and the lethargic play.


other notes from John Wooden ...


"Failing to prepare is preparing to FAIL." 
_John Wooden

Jordan Clarkson commented on how the Lakers can learn about ball movement by watching the Spurs.  Yes, JC... You can ALSO learn about TEAM, UNITY, Camaraderie, DISCIPLINE and Communication.

A MIKE BUY ANOTHER (Last) NAME? Mike D'Antoni of the Lakers on his way OUT

    Unless it is "Mike Popovich,"  

(Gregg's Fictitious Identical Twin brother that fills in for him regularly unbeknownst to anyone), 

            I strongly urge the Los Angeles Lakers to look for their next coach to be named something other than...Mike.


Mike (Brown) was signed by the Lakers in May, 2011 to a 4 year $18M dollar deal (source: NBA.COM May 25, 2011) :the fourth of which was only partially guaranteed).  He was only five games into his second of a four year term when the Lakers decided to part ways with him on November 10, 2012.

This is a statement that came from General Manager Mitch Kupchak when Mike was let go, 

      "This was a difficult and painful decision to make. Mike was very hard-working and dedicated, but we felt it was in the best interest of the team to make a change at this time. We appreciate Mike's efforts and contributions and wish him and his family the best of luck."     - (source: Abraham Gutierrez of Examiner.com)

THIS STATEMENT WAS RELATED TO THE EARLY TERMINATION OF MR. MIKE BROWN AND NOT MIKE D'ANTONI.  REPEAT: THE AFOREMENTIONED STATEMENT WAS PRESENTED ON BEHALF OF THE LAKERS ORGANIZATION FOR THE EFFORTS OF MIKE BROWN, B-R-O-W-N.




 As Much as this is from the Lakers PAST, might this also represent some foreshadowing with respect to the current Mike (of a different last name)...?

Mike Brown's Buyout by the Lakers has been reported as being anywhere from $6-$7M to as high as $11M.  A Source close to Mike Brown informed me that, "this information is not for public consumption," when I inquired about the particulars related to the buyout.  So, I'm going to give you a breakdown on what has already been reported: 4 yrs at $18M = $4.5 per year.  Mike Brown "only" coached five games into year two of his four-year deal, so for all intent and purpose he was owed nearly three years worth of salary, right?  So, that equals, roughly, $13.5M left on contract (+/-).  But, there is a buyout clause, AND, Mike Brown is an NBA tenured coach so he can get up to 67.5% of that remaining balance (according to a source).  I tend to believe the reported $6-$7M as the buyout amount because that math falls under the roughly %50 of the Total Contract amount of $13.5 remaining (in value, excluding guaranteed vs non-guaranteed portions).  The way I have read and understood the reports is that the, let's say, $7M buyout amount was set to be spread out over two years, so $3.5M per year.  The same source indicated in this paragraph also stated that, 

" As of the beginning of next year the Lakers are only responsible for Mike D'Antoni's contract."

On April 7, 2014, Petros Papadakis said on Fred Roggin's "Goin Roggin" on NBC 4 LA that

          "if they (Lakers) hire another Coach next year and he's terrible too, he's going to have to take the fall, and the the Lakers, the Buss Family, is paying THREE Coaches  NOT TO COACH, and you CAN'T do THAT!"

listen to the complete conversation here

This was in response to the notion that many people (fans) are asking that the Lakers #firedantoni . What "P" didn't realize is the wisdom of his words.  He actually meant that the Lakers would probably NOT fire D'Antoni because why would they pay 1) Mike B AND 2) Mike D to NOT COACH, plus the hypothetical NEW COACH that fails and gets fired (according to "P").  However, Mr. Papadakis, the Lakers will no longer have any financial obligation to Mr. Brown (if they had any left to speak of, as reports indicate that once the Cleveland Cavaliers hired Mike Brown, the Lakers financial responsibility/ exposure was lessened: reports not confirmed).

    

4? MIL MIKE? How ABOUT 2?

    Mike D'Antoni has one more year left on his contract of the 3 year 12 million dollar contract 2 years ago. Recently, Kevin Ding of the Bleacher Report, 

wrote an article on April 2, 2014 talking about the idea of Mike D'Antoni staying next season.  Other news "outlets" like Sports Illustrated "SI WIRE."  picked up on this  and wrote it into their own articles.  

This is the excerpt that the SI publication built their article around and sent out into the Twittersphere:

"D’Antoni has one more guaranteed season left on his Lakers contract, and the club is leaning toward retaining him despite some privately disgruntled players and massive public disdain. It’s not clear which way the organization will go with him."

 Many Tweeps Tweeted and ReTweeted this "News" as a link and commented on how "D'Antoni was staying with the Lakers."  

 My blood was pumping.  "This isn't real!" I screamed.  "This can't be happening!" Ahhhhhh..

I  am immediately consumed by this news.  I click on the link.  I read.  I see nothing in the "report" that provides any data, or evidence to support the claim that D'Antoni is staying.  I then go back onto Twitter looking for other articles/ sources. "Surely, there is more to the story?". Too many people are tweeting and re-tweeting about this topic.

No.  This " so-called news" that "the Lakers are inclined to keep D'Antoni as Coach next season," was really based on the following: 

1) The obvious: Mike D'Antoni is under contract through next season and 2) Opinion by Kevin Ding that based his opinion on #1 and the fact that the Lakers had to buyout/ pay Mike Brown some coin for not coaching.

I responded on Twitter and asked Kevin Ding to "confirm his source" or "provide data to support his claim." (Crickets)

 These are some of my tweets:

This Tweet Simply ASKS if there there IS a source by suggesting that what I read seemed to be opinion, thus, he is "the source." 








In these TWEETS, I am suggesting if you are going to Report on a topic like the Lakers Coach staying one more year that you should have something to substantially back it up (other than what we ALL know which is that D'Antoni is under contract).




Days later, Mr. Ding followed up, so perhaps this was in response to my TWEETS (I certainly would like to think so)

This is an excerpt from that article: "LOS ANGELES — Judging from the Twitter response to my recent column about Chris Kaman and Mike D'Antoni, the element that really got to many people was the part about the Los Angeles Lakers leaning toward retaining D'Antoni as head coach next season."

He also asks about a petition to Fire Mike D'Antoni. THERE IS (CLICK HERE).

Fred Roggin brought up the same April 2, 2014 article written by Kevin Ding, and Petros Papadakis, incidentally points out that Ding "doesn't source it so it sounds like he is talking to an agent.." Regarding Mr. Ding's take on why the Lakers might be inclined to keep MDA.

So...

I'm saying there's a chance.  A GREAT chance that D'Antoni is not representing the #purplengold next season.  In summary (regarding the finances):

1) The Lakers no longer have ANY financial obligation to Mike Brown

2) Mike D'Antoni has one more left on contract that has been reported as being guaranteed.  Many Contracts have buyout clauses that range from a minimum % value of 39.5% Upwards of 67.5% Based on NBA tenure.  I have not been able to confirm if there is a buyout clause in D'Antoni's contract, but if the Lakers paid Mike B $3.5M per year to NOT COACH (before he was hired by the CAVS), don't you think they would be alright with the worst case $4M to MDA ??

3) All Things Possible

4) All Things ARE Negotiable

5) D'Antoni set a precedent by resigning from New York

       

               More to come...




@CBigUpps