The Lakers finally got some good luck when they received the number two overall pick. After fearing that the pick would land outside the top five, Laker fans were ecstatic. It was tough to watch the Lakers this season, but landing the number two pick almost makes you forget about it.
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Optimism is in the air in Laker land. The Lakers have many options with the number two pick and it will be interesting to see what direction they take moving forward. It looks like Byron Scott will have a much better team to coach next season.
Yesterday, a rumor came out that said the Lakers were interested in pursuing Tom Thibodeau. Today, Mitch Kupchak was a guest on LA Today with Bill Reiter and Leeann Tweeden and was asked about the rumor. Kupchak was quick to shoot the rumor down:
"“Nothing to it. We’re incredibly happy with Byron. That’s what representatives and agents do. They try to create a marketplace for their guy. I’m not saying that’s exactly what happened here, but we’re very, very happy with Byron.”"
Scott has one year under his belt with the purple and gold and many believe it’s a sure thing that Thibodeau will be parting ways with Chicago, so the timing is off. It’s no secret the Lakers were interested in Thibodeau last year, but the Bulls wanted compensation for him. Now, Thibodeau will be free to choose his next coaching job and the New Orleans Pelicans seem like an ideal situation.
Scott had a tough year, but all the blame can’t be put on him. One could argue that Scott did the best with what he had at his disposal. Scott is a Laker legend and deserves more than one year to prove his worth. The Lakers are a loyal franchise and Kupchak made it very clear that the rumor was simply not true.