Byron Scott Thinks LeBron Should Be A Player-Coach On The Lakers: “The Only Person That He’s Gonna Really Trust Is Himself”

Former Lakers head coach Byron Scott believes the Lakers need to appoint LeBron James as player-coach.

Former Los Angeles Lakers head coach and player Byron Scott has shared his candid thoughts on what the team needs to do about its head coach vacancy.

Scott has bluntly said he thinks it’s time LeBron James is named as the player-coach of this franchise.

“It’s obvious to me that he’s making a lot of decisions that’s going on in this organization – from a coach’s standpoint to a player’s standpoint. So, if you allow him to make those decisions, sit on the bench and make those decisions as well. Be the head coach. Player-head coach, go back to the Bill Russell days.”

Scott took a negative take on the Lakers head coaching situation over the last few years, criticizing the decision to let go of Frank Vogel and Darvin Ham, prompting Scott to push LeBron to take accountability by being head coach.

“You got to have a scapegoat in that seat, as they’ve had the last four years. You had Frank Vogel, who won a championship with them and the next year he was gone. Darvin Ham went to the Western Conference Finals last year, and now boom, he’s gone. So what are you looking for? What do you need?”

(Starts at 0:47)

There’s no doubt LeBron would be a great head coach. He’s one of the most analytical minds the game has ever seen and if there’s any player with the respect of the players that can do this, it’s LeBron. The problem is, that it’s hard for people to trust the coaching of a player who is actively on the roster as well.

How can LeBron prepare plays on the board if he’s on the court? Within timeouts, it’s one thing, but juggling the role of the star player and head coach in the modern NBA seems entirely unfeasible. The Lakers would also likely not give LeBron so much power over the organization, especially with his impending free agency.

Could LeBron Help The Lakers In A Coaching Capacity?
With all three coaches the Lakers have had in the LeBron era, it was their tactical nuance that cost them their job.

Luke Walton was terrible, Vogel was blamed by the ownership for failing to integrate Russell Westbrook, and Ham lost the locker room, with James being a prominent voice in that room. Ham throwing D’Angelo Russell under the bus a week after Anthony Davis criticized his tactical sense in Game 2 did him no favors.

Given the tactical understanding of the game we know LeBron has, always striving to make the right plays and play team basketball, it seems he would be able to succeed. But ensuring all players trust that there’s no agenda behind his coaching decisions will be hard. Players will be in a constant state of flux about how their teammate also controls the team’s rotation.

James has always spoken up in his capacity as a player, with videos of him taking clipboards from coaches to draw up plays when necessary. It’s better to hire an outside head coach who understands that LeBron’s tactical input is necessary. But it’s been reported that James will keep his hands off the Lakers coaching search this offseason.

It’s clear James can’t succeed by completely giving in to the ideas of a head coach (unless it’s Tyronn Lue), but he could find a way to build a partnership without undermining the head coach’s contributions.