April 15--The Lakers set franchise lows for winning percentage in back-to-back years, following up a 21-61 record with a somehow-more-calamitous 17-65 mark this season.
It hasn't dimmed Byron Scott's outlook. He was optimistic when asked specifically if he thought he would return next season as the Lakers' coach.
"Yeah. Absolutely," he said Friday.
The Lakers have until June 1 to decide whether he'll be retained, as per terms of his contract, according to a person familiar with the situation. He has one more guaranteed year for about $4 million.
He's aware of the "Fire Byron" chatter, the type emanating from red-in-the-face talk-radio hosts, critical columnists and, sure, plenty of corners on Twitter and message boards.
"That's fine," he said. "I roll with the punches. They're not in there every day. They're not in there in practice. They have no clue. To be honest, I'm much smarter than all of them when it comes to basketball."
He said he never felt pressure to win from anyone above him in the franchise, mentioning Lakers President Jeanie Buss and General Manager Mitch Kupchak.
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"I think we're all still on the same page. We have a lot, obviously, to dissect, a lot of things to go through, and we're going to go through them," he said. "And then after that, whatever happens, happens."
Despite all the losing, Scott still called this his "dream job," cognizant he won three championships as a player with the Lakers in the 1980s.
"I love this organization," he said.
