With the NBA Draft Lottery finally over, teams are starting to prepare for the upcoming offseason. Numerous teams, including the Nuggets, Magic, and Pelicans, have yet to make a head coach hiring as they weigh all the options in front of them.
-== Lakers Draft Evaluations: Comparing Then & Now ==-
While there are certainly a number of teams who will be looking to hire a new coach, the Lakers were not expected to be one of them. The team just hired Byron Scott less than 12 months ago to a four year contract. The Lakers also just finished paying off former head coaches Mike Brown and Mike D’Antoni.
However, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, the Lakers will be pursuing Tom Thibodeau should he become available:
Being told that the Lakers will be pursuing Tom Thibodeau. Byron Scott has just the one year left. Lakers would be paying four head coaches.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) May 20, 2015
The Lakers and Thibodeau were linked heavily last season, however the Bulls wanted the Lakers No. 7 overall pick as compensation for letting Thibodeau out of his contract. The Lakers decided that was too high of a price and decided to go with former Laker legend Byron Scott instead.
Schultz is also wrong in saying that Scott only has one year left on his contract. Scott was signed to a four year contract last season, with the Lakers holding a team option on the last year. The Lakers also finished paying off D’Antoni and Brown, so they would only be paying Scott and Thibodeau should the Bulls head coach join the Lakers.
Scott struggled mightily in his first season, posting the worst record in Laker franchise history. However, this year was expected to be a struggle as the Lakers wanted to keep their Top-5 protected pick. There are no signs that Scott will be fired but a coach of Thibodeau’s caliber only becomes available every so often.