BYRON SCOTT DESERVES JOB SECURITY
In America, job security is the basis of family structure. We make many decisions based off expected bi-weekly paychecks, salaries, bonuses, and vacation time. The old familiar model is waking up early and commuting to work, preparing your sandwich the night before to enjoy in your break room, clocking out of work only to be inching forward in your mid sized sedan during rush hour, and then getting home in time for dinner and your favorite primetime tv show. Its a routine many Americans find themselves in, mostly because of the security it provides. As long as you arrive to work on time and do what is expected, nothing should change, right? For NBA coaches, job security seems to be anything but expected.
Many coaches experience the crippling pressure of getting a group of players to buy into their philosophiy of how to win. In a league that’s shifting more in the players favor, coaches that are unproven are consistently on the hot seat. Getting the keys to run the team the way you seem fit may take years to translate into wins. Years that many new coaches simply can’t afford. Since 2000, there have been only 4 NBA teams (Houston, Dallas, Utah, & San Antonio) that have had less than 5 head coaching changes. The other 26 teams have changed head coaches a combined 56 times. The best example of a coach getting stuck in the game of musical chairs is Byron Scott.
Byron Scott came into coaching with a résumé that would garner respect from his peers. Scott was a former player, most notably of the “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers, winning 3 NBA championships alongside Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. After retiring from the NBA in 1998 and a short stint playing overseas (winning a Euro-League championship in his lone season in Europe), Scott returned to the NBA as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings in 1999. Scott excelled in developing key players three point abilities, propelling the team to playoff success.
Scott took over as head coach of the New Jersey Nets in 2000. Within a year, the team had won a franchise record 52 games. Led by point guard Jason Kidd, the Nets reached the NBA finals in back to back years. Although losing both appearances(Being swept the Lakers and losing in 6 games to the Spurs), the Nets seemed to be a staple in the Eastern Conference for years to come. But after a sub par start to the 2003 season, Scott was fired. There were reports at the time that Kidd didn’t gel well with Scott and urged the organization to move in a different direction. In 2018, Scott described Kidd as an “Asshole”.
A year later in 2004, Scott was hired as the head coach of the New Orleans Hornets. In his first year, the team finished 18–64. The Hornets were looking to turn their fortunes around in the 2005 NBA draft. The Hornets trusted Scott’s knowledge and scouting to choose the best player for their future with the 4th pick. With it, Scott chose Wake Forest standout point guard, Chris Paul. With Scott’s guard dominant gameplan meshing well with the young star, the team improved to 38 and 39 win consecutive years. In 2007, the teams chemistry and Scott’s tutelage of Chris Paul led the team to first in their division with 56 wins, a franchise record. Scott coached the Western Conference All Star team and won the 2007–08 Coach of the Year award. Although losing in the second round to the defending champion Spurs team, championship aspirations increased expectations for Scott and the Hornets.
The following year, the Hornets were unable to reach the heights the organization expected. Scott’s Hornets team finished the year with 49 wins and exited the playoffs in the first round. With the team gearing up for another run at a championship, Scott was fired nine games into the 2009 season. After the firing, Chris Paul was extremely frustrated with the teams decision. “Coach was more than a coach to me. He was a mentor, someone who made me the player I am today ”, Paul stated after hearing the news. The team traded Chris Paul a year later as the team was never able to recover and accomplish the tasks that Scott once pushed the team to.
Scott’s name was called yet again to be the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010. The move was made to appease the Cavs superstar LeBron James, who was clamoring for the team to hire a head coach with playing experience along with an extensive résumé. Their efforts proved to be too late, as James left the team for the Miami Heat, just days after Scott signed his contract to be the new coach. After a miserable season that included a 26 game losing streak, Scott and the Cavaliers won the top pick in the draft. Again, relying on Scott’s expertise and scouting, the team picked Duke point guard Kyrie Irving with the first pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
With a roster filled with young undeveloped players, Scott used the season to develop the young crop of players. Although the team improved by only 2 wins, Kyrie Irving won the “Rookie of the Year” award and publicly showed support for Byron Scott, calling Scott his “basketball father”. The next year, Irving’s stats rose considerably, earning him his first All Star nomination in just his second year. The team won 24 games, andseemed to be full of young players with potential such as Irving, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters. But all to familiarly, Scott was let go as head coach at the end of the season. After the firing, Irving said he was “surprised and hurt” by the dismissal of Scott and that his “emotions are running high”.
After spending some time as a TV analyst, Scott was approached to be head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, his former team. After interviewing for the job three times, Scott signed a multi-year deal to become the head coach in 2014. Scott was joining a team that was rebuliding, a premise that the organization and fans knew would take years of sub par seasons to develop talent. With Scott and the organization aware of the low expectations for the season, the team finished with 21 wins. With the second pick in the draft, yet another organization entrusted the decision with Scott. Scott and the Lakers selected the All American point guard from Ohio State, D’angelo Russell.
In Kobe Bryant’s final year with the team and amidst the rebuilding process, the team had a dismal season. Quarrels amongst young players (D’angelo Russell and Nick Young scandal), Bryant calling out unmotivated players, and practices that Scott had to force players to come to early (seriously), the team finished with a franchise worst 17 wins. But with Kobe retiring and the team filled with fresh talent, Scott seemed to have had his worst days of the rebuilding process behind him. Scott was ready to lead his alma mater back to the glory days of the “Showtime” Lakers that he was an integral part of. This was his chance to prove that he belonged as a top coach in this league. One summer night following the season, Scott was called to the Lakers front office to discuss the plans for the upcoming season. In that meeting, he learned that he was not apart of those plans, as the team declined to pick up the option on his remaining two years of his contract. After cleaning out his office, Scott said he felt “cheated” and “lied to”.
Scott has not returned to coaching since, understandably so. After Magic Johnson was hired as president of basketball operations of the Los Angeles Lakers, many of the old regime that had done Scott wrong was let go. Getting into a routine was never a luxury Scott experienced as a head coach. With a résumé that competes with some of the leagues most heralded coaches, job security is sure to be his top request at his next place of employment.
