Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 5:56 am Post subject: Michael Cooper or Byron Scott?
Both were integral role players during Showtime.
Cooper was a multi-faceted defensive weapon who could guard 3 perimeter positions and was a DPOY and multi year all-NBA Defense awardee for multiple years.
Scott was a scorer who also flourished in transition and was one of our team's best shooters.
Happy to have both, but for the sake of discussion, who was the more valuable role player for the Lakers?
My vote is Cooper due to his all-NBA level defense, despite not averaging much in terms of counting stats.
Joined: 17 Sep 2008 Posts: 21102 Location: In a white room, with black curtains near the station
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:03 am Post subject:
Cooper. He did so much for that Showtime Laker squad, particularly on defense. A box score or stat summary doesn't show how many plays he disrupted, how long and agile he was, how he used his skills to shore up a defense on an offensive-oriented team, how effectively the team offense flowed with him in a support role, and how dangerous he could be when teams ignored him. Incredible player.
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 7:54 am Post subject: Re: Michael Cooper or Byron Scott?
yinoma2001 wrote:
Both were integral role players during Showtime.
Cooper was a multi-faceted defensive weapon who could guard 3 perimeter positions and was a DPOY and multi year all-NBA Defense awardee for multiple years.
Scott was a scorer who also flourished in transition and was one of our team's best shooters.
Happy to have both, but for the sake of discussion, who was the more valuable role player for the Lakers?
My vote is Cooper due to his all-NBA level defense, despite not averaging much in terms of counting stats.
Very different players who contributed very different things. I'd probably go with Cooper, though I consider them roughly equivalent and women argue that much with someone who went with Scott
Having seen both from the start and end of their careers, I'd go with Coop. His defense and versatility made the difference for me. It also reflects how unscientific the draft is; Scott was the No.4 pick in his draft, Coop was that lowly 3rd round pick in his draft.
Question for ya'll. You've got the first pick in an historically rich draft. All, and I do mean all players (Wilt, Kareem, Jordan, Magic, Shaq, Our Beloved Fallen One) etc. are there for the taking.
Hated the Byron trade at the onset (was I wrong). As someone said, they were entirely different players and we would not have won without both of them. Byron was by far our best and most consistent outside volume shooter. Cooper was so versatile and players all attempted to bully him with no avail. He may have defended Larry better than ANY player in the ENTIRE league.
Question for ya'll. You've got the first pick in an historically rich draft. All, and I do mean all players (Wilt, Kareem, Jordan, Magic, Shaq, Our Beloved Fallen One) etc. are there for the taking.
Who do you take?
If we don't have the benefit of hindsight, and just have to look at them based on what we knew when they were drafted:
1. Kareem
2. Wilt
3. Jordan
4. Magic
5. Kobe
If we do have the benefit of knowing their careers, I'd go with Kareem followed by Jordan.
Joined: 14 Apr 2001 Posts: 144588 Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:44 am Post subject:
LakerDYnasty72 wrote:
Question for ya'll. You've got the first pick in an historically rich draft. All, and I do mean all players (Wilt, Kareem, Jordan, Magic, Shaq, Our Beloved Fallen One) etc. are there for the taking.
Who do you take?
Kareem _________________ RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023.
Question for ya'll. You've got the first pick in an historically rich draft. All, and I do mean all players (Wilt, Kareem, Jordan, Magic, Shaq, Our Beloved Fallen One) etc. are there for the taking.
Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Posts: 22883 Location: La Jolla, San Diego
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 12:02 pm Post subject:
B. Scott was clearly the better player. For those Lakers, Scott wasn't as important because they pretty much had scoring covered between Cap, James and Magic. So if you had to sacrifice one, I think you sacrifice Scott. Cooper is like a rich man's luxury. Think of Iggy for the Warriors. But on a bad team, that value just wouldn't be appreciated as much. If you had an expansion draft and the Lakers left Scott and Copper unprotected, most will take Scott, he was younger too.
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 36163 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 12:19 pm Post subject:
Byron had a head coaching record of 38-126 with us, whereas Cooper coached the Sparks to two WNBA championships. Cooper is clearly the superior coach. _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
Question for ya'll. You've got the first pick in an historically rich draft. All, and I do mean all players (Wilt, Kareem, Jordan, Magic, Shaq, Our Beloved Fallen One) etc. are there for the taking.
Who do you take?
If we don't have the benefit of hindsight, and just have to look at them based on what we knew when they were drafted:
1. Kareem
2. Wilt
3. Jordan
4. Magic
5. Kobe
If we do have the benefit of knowing their careers, I'd go with Kareem followed by Jordan.
Yep, I'm including the element of hindsight. For the record, and again having seen them all, except Wilt, from start to finish, I'd take Kareem every time.
No one like him, height, intelligence, inner toughness, skill. Reflecting on Kareem brought to mind one of the most underrated centers of all time. He's seldom mentioned among the greats, but Bill Walton without the injuries would be receiving a lot of love from me.
Not better than Kareem, but Luke's dad was a bad dude too.
He's seldom mentioned among the greats, but Bill Walton without the injuries would be receiving a lot of love from me.
Walton has a what might have been.
Amazing player in that he could control a game without scoring because of his defense, rebounding and passing.
Definitely, but he could score if he had to score . Neither Portland or Boston emphasized scoring from him, but he could score. He had a very soft touch, and extension of his shot. I still remember his phenomenal college game in which he hit that 21 of 22 shots against Memphis State. He had a sweet touch.
I think Byron was the better individual player, but Coop's versatility made him a force multiplier because he could play 2 ways at 3 different positions, which made it possible for those Laker teams to get away with a pretty shallow bench. Coop probably would've been the harder player to replace.
Hated the Byron trade at the onset (was I wrong). As someone said, they were entirely different players and we would not have won without both of them. Byron was by far our best and most consistent outside volume shooter. Cooper was so versatile and players all attempted to bully him with no avail. He may have defended Larry better than ANY player in the ENTIRE league.
No less an authority than Larry Bird said that Michael Cooper defended Larry Bird better than any player in the league.
I think Byron was the better individual player, but Coop's versatility made him a force multiplier because he could play 2 ways at 3 different positions, which made it possible for those Laker teams to get away with a pretty shallow bench. Coop probably would've been the harder player to replace.
Yeah, I value Coop a ton because of that ability to defend 3 positions at a high level. Defensive player of the year in '87. Having a guy like that you can throw in to stop or put out a fire at a number of positions is just huge for your bench. Even though he was backup PG, it also fits in well with Magic since you didn't have to rely on Magic covering the smaller PGs defensively. So I got to go with Coop. And I was a huge BScott fan.
Plus, you had the Coop-a-loop and could yell "Cooooooooooo."
Question for ya'll. You've got the first pick in an historically rich draft. All, and I do mean all players (Wilt, Kareem, Jordan, Magic, Shaq, Our Beloved Fallen One) etc. are there for the taking.
Who do you take?
If i have a strong personality coach, Wilt. Otherwise Jordan, and hopefully Russell is available when i pick again.
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 36163 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 7:33 pm Post subject:
Do Byron’s blunder as a coach outweigh his contributions as a player in terms of his overall impact on this franchise? _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
Joined: 03 Oct 2003 Posts: 8469 Location: Santa Monica
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 8:08 pm Post subject:
Cooper would've been perfect on today's Lakers. We could start him at the 2, then slide him over to the 3 when we go small.
His ability to run the floor, throw it down, hit 3s and most of all defend at a high level would've been such an awesome fit on this year's Laker team with our style of play. _________________ Lakers 49ers Chargers Dodgers
That 88 team (I believe) that lost to the Pistons in The Finals was a dynamite team. They lost because Scott went down then Magic followed him. Before they both went down, however, the Lakers swept every round before the Finals. The leading scorer that year ... Byron Scott.
Scott that year I believe shot damn near 54% and averaged I believe 22 a game. He was lethal. Scott at his peak was better than Cooper.
It's a shame people don't comprehend how good he was and how important a cog he was in winning rings for the Lakers. _________________ A creative scorer, a wing defender, and a shooter.
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