Koolaid_Man
07-25-2014, 11:37 PM
Let's start with the Pro's first.
First, let's get one thing out of the way. Byron Scott is not a bad coach. He's had success in this league, and a lot more of it than many other coaches could claim. He did take the New Jersey Nets (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/NJN) to two straight NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003. The Finals trips began just one year after a 26-win campaign. He also helped build the New Orleans Hornets (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/NOH) from a woeful 18-64 team to a 56-26 record in 2007-08. It's not like the man is a dud.
Now the Cons:
He's also been fired twice, both times in the middle of a season! The teams employing him thought the situations under which they let him go were bad enough that they could not let him finish the year. It's a telling sign of some fault in his style of coaching that this has happened twice now, after previous success.
Why was he fired? The first time, his players tuned him out. They quit on him. He lost his team. He lost them though his demanding and grating style. The second time? He lost them with their lack of confidence in his ability to devise in-game strategies. Does this sound like a man who could take over a team defending a championship? No doubt they would second-guess his decisions and authority if they clashed with what has gotten them there previously. Wouldn't Scott want to come in and do things his way? Wouldn't he have to? How else could he earn the respect of a championship staff, unless he implemented a system in which they know Scott has 100% confidence? In the style of coaching he feels best suits him?
First, let's get one thing out of the way. Byron Scott is not a bad coach. He's had success in this league, and a lot more of it than many other coaches could claim. He did take the New Jersey Nets (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/NJN) to two straight NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003. The Finals trips began just one year after a 26-win campaign. He also helped build the New Orleans Hornets (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/NOH) from a woeful 18-64 team to a 56-26 record in 2007-08. It's not like the man is a dud.
Now the Cons:
He's also been fired twice, both times in the middle of a season! The teams employing him thought the situations under which they let him go were bad enough that they could not let him finish the year. It's a telling sign of some fault in his style of coaching that this has happened twice now, after previous success.
Why was he fired? The first time, his players tuned him out. They quit on him. He lost his team. He lost them though his demanding and grating style. The second time? He lost them with their lack of confidence in his ability to devise in-game strategies. Does this sound like a man who could take over a team defending a championship? No doubt they would second-guess his decisions and authority if they clashed with what has gotten them there previously. Wouldn't Scott want to come in and do things his way? Wouldn't he have to? How else could he earn the respect of a championship staff, unless he implemented a system in which they know Scott has 100% confidence? In the style of coaching he feels best suits him?