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Byron Scott officially hired to coach Lakers

Sam Amick
USA TODAY Sports
Byron Scott will be the next coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Byron Scott has officially been hired as the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The team confirmed the hiring of Scott, who was a member of the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s.

Scott's hire comes nearly three months after the Lakers parted ways with Mike D'Antoni. Scott was considered the frontrunner since the early stages of the search, but the Lakers chose to handle the draft and free agency first before making an ultimate decision on their next coach.

"After an extensive and thorough search, we're proud to welcome Byron back to the Lakers family as our next head coach," said Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak. "Byron has proven himself at the highest levels of the game as both a player and a coach in his almost 30 years of NBA experience. His leadership skills and track record for success make him the ideal person to lead this franchise forward."

\Yet while the likes of Lionel Hollins, George Karl, Mike Dunleavy, Kurt Rambis and others were considered, none had the combination of extensive head coaching experience and deep Lakers roots that they were clearly looking for like Scott.

\Not only did he play 11 of his 14 seasons with the Lakers, but his final season was Kobe Bryant's first. The two connected in 1996-97 and their continued closeness was seen as a positive during this unwelcome time of rebuilding. Bryant is entering the first season of his two-year, $48.5 million extension that was agreed upon last season.

Scott has coached 13 seasons in the NBA, taking the New Jersey Nets to back-to-back Finals in 2002 and 2003 before mentoring Chris Paul while with the New Orleans Hornets (playoff appearances in two of his five full seasons). He took over in Cleveland after LeBron James left for Miami and struggled for three seasons with a young and inexperienced group and was fired from that job in 2013.

Scott, who was a Lakers television analyst for Time Warner last season, has a coaching record of 416-521.

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