Former Los Angeles Lakers star Byron Scott recently wondered aloud whether it’s time for LeBron James to be named as head coach following the dismissal of Darvin Ham as the Purple & Gold’s mentor.
Asked about his thoughts on the comment made by Scott, NBA expert Ric Bucher said that he thinks what Scott said was more about standing up for NBA coaches than a sincere desire to see James coach in the league.
“Number one, that’s a former coach looking at other coaches who have been fired and saying, you know what, I’m gonna speak up on their behalf. Because I feel like they were- They were treated unfairly. Not so much not take the job, but whether it’s Darvin Ham or Frank Vogel or any number of coaches, like they’re being the scapegoat here,” Bucher said.
.@RicBucher reacts to Byron Scott's comments about LeBron James coaching the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/gPzJZbzMpF
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) May 8, 2024
“And I think he feels that. Like, you know what? When you have a player like LeBron who is deciding who comes in and when they go and how things are done. And I would even say, instances where we saw LeBron challenging Darvin Ham or dismissing what he was doing, not paying attention to like, you can’t have it both ways,” Bucher added.
Will LeBron James Coach the Los Angeles Lakers?
There have been numerous times in the past that an active player became a head coach in the NBA, but the last time it happened was during the 1978-1979 season when Dave Cowens called the shots fo the Boston Celtics.
Given how long since such a setup happened in the league, it’s difficult to see James taking over as a head coach for the Lakers while still in service as a player. It’s tough enough to carry a big responsibility as one of the best players on the team and adding a coaching job to his resume would probably be more of a counterproductive move for him and the Lakers.
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