Lakers Must Look to the Future With Next Coach Selection

With the Los Angeles Lakers starting the season so poorly, calls for Byron Scott‘s head on a stick have grown louder and louder. Scott has made far too many mistakes to expect him to return to the franchise next season.

If he’s coaching the team at this time next year, there would be numerous riots throughout California, even throughout North America as all basketball fans should be upset with what he’s doing to a talent like D’Angelo Russell.

So with Byron on his way out, the Lakers must find a new head coach. Many fans are suggesting big names to replace him, from development minded Scott Brooks to defensive master Tom Thibodeau.

More from Lake Show Life

Here’s the problem: these moves would mean the Lakers haven’t learned anything. Since Phil Jackson retired, the Lakers have looked to the past for their head coach. First, they hired former coach of the year Mike Brown. Then, they hired former coach of the year Mike D’Antoni. They replaced him with former coach of the year Byron Scott.

What do they all have in common? A coach of the year award for being great at their jobs in the past.

The problem? The NBA moved on from them. The league is constantly adapting and changing, leaving these men behind, stuck in their once revolutionary ways.

There’s a reason any of the Lakers big name coaching targets are available: they failed somewhere else. Sure, Thibodeau has been a defensive mastermind for a long time. But the Bulls moved on because the rest of the league has copied his techniques and a good offensive game plan has become more important. If the Lakers went with him they would just be bringing in a former coach of the year who isn’t prepare for today’s NBA.

The goal of the organization should be to find the next Tom Thibodeau. When the Lakers go searching this summer they need to start with guys who are still on other team’s benches, as assistant coaches. Find someone who still has a job in the NBA and who understands who it works.

Find someone filled with untapped potential who can lead LA back to glory. Someone who can grow with the Lakers young core. Not an out of the NBA former coach of the year like Avery Johnson or Larry Brown.

Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Look around the league, Boston Celtics fans love Brad Stevens. When the Celtics needed to replace Doc Rivers they didn’t call a former coach of the year who was out of work. They looked towards the future and scouted the college game like they would for a player until they found the perfect candidate for them.

Last year’s coach of the year? Mike Budenholzer earned that honor after spending almost two decades as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs. He paid his dues and learned how the NBA functioned, and once he was given an opportunity he took the league by storm.

The Lakers goal this summer should be to find the future. Find someone who can grow with the young team and eventually lead the proud franchise back to the heights it belongs at. To do this, they need to ignore unemployed coaches with long track records of success in the past. They need to focus their attention on finding that next great assistant who is ready for his turn, or that successful college coach who can make the transition to the NBA.

Next: Byron Scott Continues to Prove Fans Right

What do you think about the Lakers coaching search? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter if you have a hidden gem the Lakers should be looking at.

Home/Lakers News