LA Lakers coach Byron Scott is already preaching defense just days after being hired by the team to guide next season's roster. Meanwhile, rumors have surfaced that former Seattle Supersonics great Gary Payton will be hired as an assistant coach.
According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, LA Lakers coach Byron Scott was "extremely excited about the job."
"[I'm] extremely excited about the opportunity to bring the purple and gold back up to the championship-caliber basketball," he said.
The sports website added that the former LA Lakers "Showtime" member, alongside Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar, has been exchanging text messages with Kobe Bryant to discuss their strategy going into next season.
"He told me he was working out with Wesley [Johnson] and Nick [Young]. I told them that sounded great, but 'they better be ready to play some defense,'" LA Lakers coach Byron Scott said.
The LA Lakers was ranked 28th in defensive efficiency last season, which can be blamed on Mike D'Antoni and "his diminished interest in stressing the importance in playing on that end of the floor," according to NBC Sports.
A good chunk of the blame should also be attributed to the slew of injuries that slashed nearly three quarters of its personnel at one point, the site added.
Meanwhile, Racine Journal's Gery Woelfel tweeted on July 25: "Gary Payton, a candidate for Bucks coaching staff, is also a candidate for Lakers staff under likely new head coach Byron Scott."
If LA Lakers Byron Scott is preaching defense then Gary Payton is just the right man to do it. Nicknamed "The Glove," the former Seattle Supersonics point guard led his team to two finals appearances only to fall to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
During the twilight of his career, Gary Payton also once joined forces with Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone to try to win a championship but were defeated by the Detroit Pistons in 2004.
