Jeremy Lin should be really confident going into the next season, because his next head coach will be one of his fans. On Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers announced Byron Scott as their next head coach, signing the veteran bench tactician on four-year, $17 million deal.
Scott, who played and won three championships with the Lakers Showtime time in the 80s, will be coaching his fourth NBA team after his tenure with the New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Lakers spent months in their recruiting process to get the best candidate for the spot left void by Mike D'Antoni at the end of the 2014-15 season. Apparently, Scott eventually became that guy after getting Kobe Bryant's vote of confidence and also his championship pedigree.
Is Scott's Arrival A Good Thing For Lin?
Lin should be grateful for the Lakers to hire Scott for the reason that the coach has been associated with great point guards in his career. In his first coaching gig in New Jersey, Scott had Jason Kidd running his offense, and that duo led the franchise to back-to-back appearances in the NBA finals.
He then hooked up with All-Star point guard Chris Paul in New Orleans, guiding the Hornets to the best record in their division and a stint in the Western Conference semifinal in 2007-2008 season.
After six seasons in Bayou area, the Cleveland Cavaliers hired Scott to mentor a young Kyrie Irving, the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. Under his tutelage, Irving developed into an explosive player and already reached his All-Star potential in just his second year. However, with the Cavs still struggling to make into the playoffs, Scott was fired and replaced by Mike Brown after the 2012-13 season.
By his resume alone, it's obvious that Scott will be leaning on his playmakers to run the show for Los Angeles. The 40-year old Steve Nash will be given the chances to prove his worth, but it seems the 25-year old Lin will get more action in the point guard position next season.
In an interview with Time Warner SportsNet, Scott acknowledged that he's a fan of the former Harvard hot shot. He also said the Lin is going to have a chip on his shoulder next season after two subpar seasons with the Rockets.
"I like Jeremy, I really do. I think he's a kid that plays the right way [and] plays extremely hard. He seems to always be in attack mode offensively. [He] pushes the ball up the floor as well as anybody in the league," Scott said of Lin in interview "Defensively - the thing that I thought was going to his biggest downfall - was something that I thought he really competed at the times I coached against him."
With this statement by Scott, it appears Lin will have lots of chance to run the Lakers offense. Of course, the offense will still run around Bryant and his one-on-one skills, but Lin's role is going to be critical for the Lakers' success next year.
If everything falls into place, it won't be surprising to see Lin having another breakout year post-Linsanity. Scott believes Lin is that talented to be successful as his previous elite point guards.
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