Avery Johnson to the Nets a done deal!

[Wurider05]

They never had any intentions of hiring this guy due to his salary. It doesn't take this long to find a coach after you have interviewed several candidates. Now the crap about how he left negotiations with us for the Nets can be the talk when they march Larry Drew or D. Casey out as the new Hawks coach. Avery might not be the only Johnson they "steal" from us. If Mark Jackson is our new coach it will be because he is the cheapest of the three!!

[lethalweapon3]

What would suck is if they get outbid by Sterling for Casey next.

~lw3

[pimp]

Boo ASG Boo

so we are left with Casey , Drew and Jackson ?? :brick wall:

3 guys with less experience than than Woody

[Diesel]

My thoughts on the matter is that our broken ownership has once again missed out. However, Byron Scott is still unemployed if they want to make up for it. I think what we have is some being loyal to Drew, Some wanting change, and Sund wanting Casey (and you can't tell how many people Sund has convinced that Casey is the way to go). I really don't understand the whole Mark Jackson deal. I really hope we are not seriously contemplating bringing in a guy with no coaching experience to coach a team that just won 53 games?

[lethalweapon3]

For anyone suggesting Byron Scott as a means to keep the Hawks from future monumental playoff losses, a la Woodson, don't forget...

http://blog.nola.com/hornetsbeat/2009/04/new_orleans_hornets_vs_denver_12.html

Denver's largest lead was 58 points. Not since 1956, when the Minneapolis Lakers beat the St. Louis Hawks 133-75, had the NBA had such a blowout in the postseason.

After almost six months to regroup, in their first preseason game back, the Hornets fell behind the Hawks by 40 in the first half, before Chris Paul stepped in and Woodyball brought the deficit back to 6. That was followed by 30+-point losses to the Magic and Golden State that greased the skids for Lord Byron's exit.

~lw3

[Diesel]

For anyone suggesting Byron Scott as a means to keep the Hawks from future monumental playoff losses, a la Woodson, don't forget...

http://blog.nola.com/hornetsbeat/2009/04/new_orleans_hornets_vs_denver_12.html

After almost six months to regroup, in their first preseason game back, the Hornets fell behind the Hawks by 40 in the first half, before Chris Paul stepped in and Woodyball brought the deficit back to 6. That was followed by 30+-point losses to the Magic and Golden State that greased the skids for Lord Byron's exit.

~lw3

From the article...

"New Orleans was blasted by Denver 121-63, likely needing a miracle to advance to the conference semifinals down 3-1 in the series to a bigger, stronger and more athletic team. "

What do you expect? Have you seen N.O. roster? They were lucky to be in the playoffs.

Thiswas the anomaly of that series.

[Joker]

From the article...

"New Orleans was blasted by Denver 121-63, likely needing a miracle to advance to the conference semifinals down 3-1 in the series to a bigger, stronger and more athletic team. "

What do you expect? Have you seen N.O. roster? They were lucky to be in the playoffs.

Thiswas the anomaly of that series.

That's what Orlando is to us.

[Diesel]

That's what Orlando is to us.

No.. I don't think there's a team in the league more athletic than us. Also, Stronger is questionable too. I mean, I know Howard is big and strong, but look at our starting 5. Joe goes 240 Marvin 240. Horf 245. Smoove 240. Orlando don't begin to match that. We are really a big team we just are undersized at the C position. IF Horf were 7'0 260 with his mentality, we'd be very dominant. The problem was that Orlando had great shooters and better coaching. Their coach coached them for exactly what Woody was about to do... and Woody being stubborn refused to adjust to what they were doing. The outcome was that they smoked us. When you look at Scott, Scott is not one who wouldn't adjust.

Now, what do they say about Scott.... List to this article I found about Cleveland's interest in Scott.

In his two previous coaching gigs, Byron Scott entered the arena like Clint Eastwood, commanding respect while shooting the hats off of any players unwilling to buy into his philosophy. Prior to Scott’s arrival in New Jersey, the Nets had one winning season in the previous six seasons and hadn’t had a 50 win season since 1976, when they were still part of the ABA. However, it took Scott only two years to churn out a 50 win season and he compiled a 101-63 (.616) record in his second and third years combined.

Byron Scott has had great success forging teams in both New Jersey and New Orleans.

It’s a process that Ryan Schwan of Hornets247 calls “forging a team.” Last season he claimed that “I don’t think there is a lot of question that Byron Scott has been successful at building team identity and cohesiveness.” He went on to state that “the players who got time were the players that would buy into what he was selling. Knuckleheads were not tolerated. That’s Byron Scott. Even during the struggles this season, did anyone see real cracks in the teams facade?”

Over the years, it has been this trait, Scott’s seemingly effortless ability to mend a broken team and set them on the right path, that has stood out as his best quality. Furthermore, we as fans can only speculate how he would do if he inherited a good situation, such as a 61 win team and title contender, assuming LeBron James re-signs. Such a great opportunity could give Scott the boost he needs to lead a team back to the Finals, much like he did in 2002 and 2003.

Additionally, Scott has a reputation for being a good “player’s coach.” He is able to command respect while maintaining a good report with his best players. Chris Paul had a great relationship with Scott and was reportedly upset when he was fired, citing his great communication and claiming “he was always straight-forward with you from Day One.”

If Paul believed in Byron Scott even after he was fired, then Scott may be a coach that can command the respect of LeBron James. One thing’s for certain; whether or not he would be successful in Cleveland, Byron Scott would not tolerate his team ignoring his pleas to foul the opponent in the final minutes of an elimination game.

Lastly, Byron Scott has a good history of offensive efficiency while coaching ball-dominant players such as Jason Kidd and Chris Paul. Granted those players are legitimate point guards, whereas LeBron operates the offense in a point forward capacity, but Scott would likely be able to achieve offensive efficiency with James dominating the ball while making sure not to revert to 20 second isolation plays down the stretch.

During the 2007-08 season, when Scott was crowned Coach of the Year, the Hornets were tied for 2nd in terms of offensive efficiency, whereas the Cavaliers were tied for 17th. The Hornets were also 1st in offensive efficiency that postseason, while the Cavs finished 14th out of 16 teams.

Both Kidd and Paul thrived offensively under Byron Scott, averaging more points and assists per game with Scott as their head coach than in the following seasons with their team. One would only hope that if Scott were to take over the LeBron-led Cavaliers that he would be able to gain his respect, smooth out any issues, and correct the bad offensive habits that the team has practiced over the past few seasons, namely relying solely on LeBron’s isolation during crucial stretches of the game.