Byron Scott thinks Jim Buss wouldn’t have fired him if Jim Buss was better at his job

Losing your job sucks. Sometimes it feels unfair. Anyone who has ever been laid-off, let go, or fired knows the feeling.

Former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott was fired by the team this summer after leading them to their two worst records in franchise history. The rosters vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss and the rest of the Lakers’ front office assembled to play for Scott didn’t exactly set him up for success, to be fair, and Scott thinks that’s a major part of the reason he was let go.

It takes an incredible level of self-confidence for a fired employee to declare that their former boss wouldn’t have fired them if their boss was better at their job, but that’s exactly what Scott did during an interview with Steve Delsohn of ESPN’s Outside the Lines that will air this Sunday at 6 am on ESPN 2 and 7 am on ESPNEWS (both times pacific):

That is just an incredible quote, but Scott may not be entirely wrong. If the Lakers roster had been better, maybe he could’ve survived completely alienating the young point guard the franchise has hitched it’s hopes to. More talented players certainly could’ve helped hide Scott’s total lack modern schemes on either side of the ball.

Alas, none of those hypotheticals came to pass, so Lakers fans will just have to hope their young roster will continue to grow under a new head coach whose shown a bit more interest in developing them.

You can follow this author on Twitter at @hmfaigen.