It's not hard to believe that Lakers coach Byron Scott is still auditioning for his job 1 ½ years in and a 31-102 record.
One media entity doesn't believe he'll have a job much longer.
D'Angelo Russell's Improvement Stalling, Byron Scott To Blame
Lost in the hoopla over the possibility of Kevin Durant signing with the Warriors when free agency begins next summer came this little nugget from Pro Basketball Talk about Scott's future in Los Angeles.
"The Lakers, even with Durant, are a few years away from winning at best, plus there will be a coaching change and other organizational questions," writes Kurt Helin.
Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant Could Be Future Lakers
That is a leap from a Los Angeles Times report discussing the former Laker's future as coach.
"Will Scott be back? People close to the organization think this season's final 2½ months are a trial of sorts," The Times reported. It would help Scott's chances if the young players showed growth and the games were more competitive. There has to be hope, not despair.
"Scott has been criticized for being too rough on the Lakers' youth, and fans wonder whether the game has charged past him in the budding era of analytics."
The coach and point guard D'Angelo Russell are barely on speaking terms, according to lakersnation.com, which can't be helping Scott's case.
"Russell and Scott appear to be using the media to communicate as of late with both of them taking subtle jabs at one another after every game and practice session," lakersnation.com's Ryan Ward reported.
The report included a couple of tweets from The Orange County Register's Bill Oram suggesting that Scott believes Russell is starting to come around under his tutelage.
Byron Scott said if D'Angelo Russell focuses on "running the show" and not turning ball over "his game will just take off to another level.”
— Bill Oram (@billoram) February 3, 2016
Scott said Russell is "starting to come along and understand his role and what he needs to do on a night to night basis for us." — Bill Oram (@billoram) February 3, 2016
If Scott is having a tough time with Russell and forward Julius Randle while Kobe Bryant serves as a go-between, what will happen to the Lakers next year when the Black Mamba is off in retirement land?
Of the two scenarios mentioned above, the one about the coaching change seems more likely.
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