NBA Transactions

Lakers fire Byron Scott. The only surprise is that it took so long. This summer is the Lakers' chance to bring in the free agents of the future (Demar Derozan will be on their radar) to go with a nice core of youngsters to build around. Keeping Scott for one more year would've been a sign that the Lakers still plan on sucking next year, firing him suggests they are ready to put together the team of the future. Reports are if they had made this move sooner they could've had Thibs. Now rumors are swirling around Jeff Van Gundy (ehh, I don't see it), UConn's Kevin Ollie (I'm not buying that one either), Golden State asst Luke Walton (if the money is huge, they might have a shot), San Antonio asst Ettore Messina (why not Becky Hammon?), and Derek Fisher (the poor man's Byron Scott). Now is the time for the Lakers to put something together, will the right coach bring people in or would they be better off fielding a team and then finding a coach? Either way, I can't help thinking the Lakers will be in this spot again next summer.

Steve Kerr named Coach of the Year. Okay, I get it, the Warriors have been absolutely brilliant for the last two years. Kerr is certainly not a bad choice but he wasn't my choice. Kerr missed a fair amount of the season and returned the same team that just won the championship. Though they overcame everyone's skepticism to have the finest single season of all time, it seems to me that there are other coaches that actually had a more impactful season.

Chris Paul out for (probably) 3-4 weeks, Blake Griffin still smarting from a quad injury. It seems to me the recent round of injuries begs for revisiting the MVP voting. Personally I had Curry 1st and Paul 4th but imagine the Clippers getting past the Blazers (I had Lillard 9th): how on earth could the Clippers beat the Warriors without Paul? Meanwhile, the Warriors could (should!) still vanquish the Clippers without Curry. Doesn't it suggest that Paul is waaaaaaay more valuable to his team than Steph is to his?