In just a little over a year since the channel’s launch, Time Warner Cable SportsNet has expanded its on-air talent by adding former Lakers Byron Scott and Luke Walton.
Scott won three NBA championships with the Lakers during the so-called “Showtime Era,” while Walton won two NBA titles with the Lakers’ 2009 and 2010 championship teams.
Lakers begin their preseason Saturday against the Golden State Warriors in Ontaro, but Scott will make his debut Sunday when the Lakers host the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center. Walton will start Tuesday for the Lakers’ game against Denver in Ontario. Walton and Scott will join James Worthy and Robert Horry, giving the Lakers a combined 15 NBA championships on set. Former Lakers forward Kurt Rambsi served as an on-air analyst last season, but he left this offseason to join Mike D’Antoni’s coaching staff.
“I’m excited to be joining the Time Warner Cable SportsNet team,” Scott said in a statement. “It’s going to be a great experience, and I look forward to having a lot of fun with my old teammate James Worthy and the rest of the Time Warner Cable SportsNet team. It’s going to be an interesting season for the Lakers, and I think they will surprise a lot of people.”
Both Walton and Scott will appear on “#LakeShow,” “Access SportsNet” and the network’s regular pre- and postgame shows.
“I am excited to be joining the Time Warner Cable SportsNet team,” Walton said ina statement. “Having won two championships with the Lakers, I know how important the team is to this community. I look forward to again being a part of Lakers basketball and can’t wait to work alongside Hall of Famer James Worthy, Byron Scott and the rest of the Time Warner Cable SportsNet team.”
In addition to spending 10 of his 14-year NBA career with the Lakers, Scott had head-coaching stints with the New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers. He was fired this offseason after the Cavaliers lost 16 of their final 18 games to finish at 24-58, the third-worst record in the NBA. But Scott led the Nets to two NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003 before losing to the Lakers and San Antonio Spurs in subsequent years and was also named the NBA’s Coach of the Year for guiding the Hornets into the playoffs for the 2007-08 season.
Walton spent nine seasons with the Lakers after being drafted a second-round pick from Arizona in 2003. But the Lakers traded Walton, along with Jason Capono, cash considerations and a first-round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2012 for Ramon Sessions. With his broadcast stint, Walton follows in the footsteps of his father Bill, who has broadcast numerous NBA games for NBC, ESPN and other networks over the years.
“The addition of Byron Scott and Luke Walton to our on-air team allows Time Warner Cable SportsNet to give fans incredible perspective on the Los Angeles Lakers. Byron is an experienced and respected NBA veteran and Luke is fresh off of an accomplished NBA career,” Larry Meyers, Vice President, Content and Executive Producer, Time Warner Cable Sports Regional Networks said in a statement. “We have worked hard to assemble an extremely experienced and relevant team of Lakers analysts as we head into our second season of Lakers basketball on Time Warner Cable SportsNet.”
Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com