Scott says he's new Lakers coach

THE LOS ANGELES Lakers have waited nearly 3 months to hire a new coach, and they're apparently making Byron Scott wait a few more days.

Scott said this weekend that he has been hired by the Lakers, but the club insisted yesterday that no deal has been reached.

Scott, who won three NBA titles as a shooting guard for the Lakers, told KCBS-TV he will take over the club, which hasn't had a coach since Mike D'Antoni resigned April 30.

"It feels fantastic," he told KCBS. "This is a dream come true. I always wanted to coach the Lakers, especially when I got to coaching. It's so unreal. I have to thank [general manager] Mitch [Kupchak], [owners] Jeanie and Jim Buss for giving me this opportunity."

Yet Kupchak and the Buss siblings remained mum yesterday, extending their strange coach-less summer to the final days of July.

ESPN.com first reported Scott would take over the Lakers with a 4-year, $17 million contract.

Scott has been a head coach with New Jersey, New Orleans and Cleveland. He was Kobe Bryant's teammate during Bryant's rookie year with the Lakers in 1996-97, and the superstar endorsed Scott for the job earlier this month.

Scott also spent last season as a television commentator on the Lakers' own network, watching the franchise's implosion up close. Los Angeles finished 27-55 last season, compiling the most losses in the 16-time NBA champions' history.

Scott will be the Lakers' fifth head coach in just over three years, starting with Phil Jackson's departure after the 2010-11 season. D'Antoni, who replaced Mike Brown and interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff, resigned after going 67-87 in less than two seasons in charge.

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