Watch former long-time Los Angeles Lakers player and head coach Byron Scott join The Herd with Colin Cowherd to discuss his trepidation about J.J. Redick being the favorite to replace Darvin Ham as the next head coach of the purple and gold.
Check out the segment above as Scott compares Redick to disgraced former Nets burnout coach Steve Nash, who failed miserably as a rookie head coach despite his immense success on the court as a player, and details why making the jump to head coach is a lot more complicated and challenging than people think.
Colin Cowherd: “Who is the best option to you [for Lakers head coach job]?
Byron Scott: “I like Sam Cassell. I love Mark Jackson. Mark Jackson I think is a guy who deserves another opportunity to coach in this league, and I don’t know why he’s been sort of blackballed in this league for so many years. If it’s not Mark Jackson, I love Sam Cassell because he’s had nothing but experience on that bench as a lifelong assistant coach, and everywhere he has been the organization has done well. I think he deserves an opportunity. The name I've heard is J.J. Redick. The only thing that I would say I have against him coming right off the streets to be the Lakers head coach is he has no experience. He’s never coached."
Cowherd: “What is the hardest thing for a guy who has never been a head coach that goes to a head coach? When do you go ‘damn, this is tougher than I thought!’?
Scott: “When you have to make every single decision. It’s not just a ‘suggestion’ anymore. As an assistant coach ‘hey, coach, let’s ride the side pick and rolls!’... Well, as a head coach, your word is bond. Whatever you say goes. Understanding that everything falls on you sometimes can be overwhelming. For a guy who has never coached – I just look at Steve Nash. Great player, Hall of Famer, never coached in his life, goes to Brooklyn and it doesn't work.
I really think if you have a year or two on the bench; that gained experience will help you so much in your next head coaching position or getting a position somewhere. Going in there cold turkey is a lot tougher than you think. The thing I would say about Steve Kerr which is a little bit different when he went from doing games to the coaching ranks was he was in the front office first. So he had a chance to be around the organization, and coaches and players all that time, so it wasn’t like he was jumping in cold turkey. He had been in situations where he was making decisions on draft picks, coaches, and things of that nature. It’s a totally different situation of where Steve Kerr came from, which was a front office, then just coming from the booth and taking over as a head coach.”
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