Byron Scott wishes he gave veterans even more minutes

Byron Scott is still smarting from his dismissal by the Los Angeles Lakers, and has an unusual theory about what might have saved his job.

"If I knew this was coming, I would have played Lou (Williams), Brandon (Bass), and guys like that a whole lot more," Scott told the Los Angeles Daily News' Mark Medina of the team's veteran players. "They gave me the best chance to win."

While that may be the first time a coach has linked Williams' extended presence on the floor to more optimal chances of winning, the point remains clear: Scott wasn't aware he could lose his job this soon.

"I wasn't going to sell myself; that's just not me," Scott said. "But I did bring up (to Lakers management) the fact that I thought I had at least another year with our discussions that this would be hard the first two or three years."

Scott was hired as Lakers coach in 2014 to oversee the lowest on-court period in franchise history, highlighted only this season by Kobe Bryant's farewell tour. Most NBA observers believed Scott was effectively in a caretaker role for this period, trying to balance Bryant's swan song with the development of youngsters like D' Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Jordan Clarkson.

Scott was stubborn in his handling of that youth, however, openly criticizing Russell and sometimes removing Randle, the team's leading rebounder, from the starting lineup.

"Young guys are young guys," Scott said. "You hope sooner or later with all those guys that the light bulb comes on and you get that 'aha moment' where they can say, 'I got it and understand what you're talking about.' We had those moments very sparingly."

While it's highly debatable that more minutes from Williams, Bass, Roy Hibbert, Nick Young, and Metta World Peace would have improved the Lakers' 17-65 record, it likely wouldn't have mattered. Team management effectively viewed this season as the end of an era, and with Bryant now retired, a time to turn the page.

Scott is certainly a veterans' coach and, as someone who played for the "Showtime" Lakers in the 1980s, perhaps expected a higher degree of loyalty from the organization. Despite his disappointment, he wishes new coach Luke Walton luck.

"I wish Luke and the Lakers all the best," Scott said. "I still bleed purple and gold. This is just a bump in the road for me from a personal standpoint. But other than that, everything I feel about that organization hasn't changed."