The Lakers have announced that Byron Scott has been fired from his position as head coach of the franchise and the organization now looks for someone to take his place.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, they took too long to make their decision and now the two coaches presumed to be the best options available (Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks) have both been signed by other teams.

For the Lakers, Scott had been a tool to transition from Kobe to the new young core. Now that Kobe is out of the picture the Lakers need a veteran star to take the reigns, because few think that anyone on the current roster is capable of carrying the team going forward.

With that in mind, the Los Angeles organization is looking for a free agent recruiter in their new head coach, according to a report by Sean Deveney of the Sporting News.

“The Lakers are looking for a coach. But more than Xs and Os, more than establishing a style of play and seeking a developer of young players, the Lakers are looking for a new, ‘recruiter-in-chief,'”

“That appears to be the No. 1 priority,” a league source told Sporting News. “It’s not just finding a guy to work with what’s on the roster. They need a coach who can pitch players.”

With so many big-name players as potential free agents this summer, the Lakers have a solid chance at grabbing a real difference maker if they can sell them on their young core of talent. But with so much turmoil in the locker room toward the end of the season and the worst win-loss record in franchise history, that might be a hard sell.