Byron Scott reunited with one of his former players. He has always had a wholesome relationship with his players. Even if he spent just three years with the Los Angeles Lakers as a coach, he is still remembered fondly. But that progress wasn’t without a hiccup. He was involved in a very public feud with one of the Lakers player Carlos Boozer. The 2008 Olympics star even publicly called out the coach after getting benched.

However, there’s a reason why Boozer was a star player. He had a strong sense of professionalism and work ethic. Despite seeming upset by the move, he didn’t let that affect him. And that must have eventually mended fences between him and his coach.

Years after the public feud, the two once again reunited. The former coach shared all the highlights from his visit to the Legends Summer Getaway which is held at the Fontainebleau Resort in Las Vegas. The second slide of his Instagram Carousel post featured Scott posing next to Boozer who had his arm around his former coach. The post is captioned, “NBA Summer League 2024 It was great seeing everyone! @nbaalumni @nbasummerleague.”

He was also seen posing alongside Spencer Haywood, Marc Spears, Charles Linwood “Buck” Williams, Gary Payton, and Alton Lister. Both Carlos and Scott seemed to have buried their old feuding that went on for more than a few months.

But what was the reason behind their feud?

Byron Scott removed Carlos Boozer from the starting line-up

It was Boozer’s performance and his position when he joined the Lakers in 2014. He was acquired by the Lakers in an amnesty bid of $3.2 million. The rest of the amount of his salary was paid by the Chicago Bulls. He was part of both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics roster. Both fans and the organization had high hopes for the NBA star. But his performance was below par.

He averaged 11.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. And many might be already aware of Boozer’s weakness in the defense area. This was also the reason why Boozer was benched during his last stint with the Chicago Bulls. And that is what the Los Angeles Lakers lacked, allowing 120.2 points per 100 possessions. In order to improve the game, head coach Scott publicly asked Boozer to work on his game.

“He knows he can play better and I expect him to play better. It starts on the defensive end. He has to do a better job against pick-and-roll defense and has to do a better job on guys who are trying to post him up,” Scott said to the reporters.

Nevertheless, the most shocking moment was when Scott moved Boozer and Jeremy Lin out of the starting lineup and brought in Ronnie Prince and Ed Davis. Well, despite previously having issues with defense in the Bulls, Boozer compared the Bulls and Lakers coaches. He stated how the defense practice was quite intense in the Bulls under the guidance of Tom Thibodeau, but this wasn’t the case with the Lakers.

“In Chicago with Thibs, we drilled our defensive rotation every day. Every day. In the morning at shootaround, practice day – it’d obviously be a lot longer on the practice day. But every day, we drilled it to make sure we know where we were supposed to be at, what we were going to do. We talk about it a lot,(hinting Lakers)” Boozer said as per Fansided.

As per Pasadena Star-News, Boozer even refused to be benched and later accepted his role. And he did a good job in supporting his teammates too. Scott even praised Boozer for his professionalism and sportsmanship. “It took him a few days to say, ‘All right. I guess this is how it’s going to be and I have to deal with it. Carlos hasn’t rocked the boat. Carlos has never been known as that type of guy,” Scott said as per a report by Mark Medina. Following his stint with the Lakers, Boozer played in the international league.

Good relationships such as this one aren’t really without disputes and just like any other coach, Scott too had a few arguments and tensions with his players. However, he has always managed to find a common ground.