The Lakers' Next Head Coach: Bryon Scott?

Byron Scott has turned himself into a pretty successful NBA coach. Although much maligned in New Jersey, he did lead the team to two straight NBA Finals in the 2002 and 2003 seasons. In New Orleans he's turned the Hornets into one of the best teams in the league. Of course, having Chris Paul on his side has to help him some. But either way, it's obvious that he's a pretty darn good coach.

Before his coaching days, Scott was mostly known for his successful run as the starting shooting guard for the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers. Scott's success in Los Angeles was somewhat of a fairytale, since he grew up playing ball right down the street from the Forum in Inglewood, CA.

Now that he's become a successful coach, some are wondering if the Los Angeles will be his next coaching destination.

Here's what Coach Scott told The L.A. Times about the possibility:

When he was asked Wednesday night if he would like to coach the Lakers, Scott laughed heartily.

"I'm going to be honest, yeah, I thought about it a lot," Scott said. "That's home for me. That's an organization that will be embedded in my heart for the rest of my life."

"I can't think of a more perfect job for me than this Hornet job that I have here," Scott said. "But my next choice would obviously be back home."

Scott and Phil Jackson's current contracts both expire at the end of the 2009-2010 season (there's that summer of 2010 again!), and Jackson has already stated that he might not be up for coaching past that season. As well, after the 2002 NBA Finals, Scott came into congratulate the Lakers on their victory. During that whole dog and pony show, Jim Gray interviewed Byron and Magic Johnson, and Magic guaranteed that Byron would be the Lakers next great coach. Byron likely would have become the Lakers coach in 2004, but he was locked into a contract in New Orleans when the spot became vacant. Now that Byron and the Lakers will both likely be free and clear in 2010, don't be surprised if Scott succeeds Jackson.