Nets Fire Byron Scott

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Nets coach Byron Scott, one year removed from taking New Jersey on a second consecutive trip to the NBA Finals, has been fired.


The Nets are expected to announce the move at a 2 p.m. ET news conference. Assistant coach Lawrence Frank will be named interim coach, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports. New Jersey practices as usual at 1 ET today and Frank is expected to coach the session.


"He has absolutely no resentment or anger," Scott's agent, Brian McInerney, told The Associated Press. "He's going down as the winningest coach in Nets' history."


McInerney said Scott met with Nets president Rod Thorn today.


"They discussed the situation and both concluded that the timing of the move is to the benefit of the team," McInerney told AP. "They decided another voice needed to be heard in the locker room."


The Nets, an unspectacular 22-20 with the All-Star break approaching, lead the 22-24 Celtics by two games in the Atlantic Division but have only the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference. The game that sealed Scott's fate was Friday's loss at 18-26 Miami, in which the Nets were routed 85-64, sources told Stein.


Scott wasn't around for the final 14 minutes Sunday of what turned out to be his final game as New Jersey's coach -- a 110-91 victory over Boston that halted a five-game losing streak. He was ejected late in the third quarter by referee Luis Grillo for saying something that earned a one-technical ejection. Frank finished up.


The last year of Scott's four-year deal was to pay him between $2.6 million and $3 million.


Despite leading the Nets to back-to-back Finals appearances, management had refused to give Scott an extension while the team was for sale. It was sold Friday to developer Bruce Ratner, who plans to move the team to Brooklyn.


Scott's status was made even more tenuous by persistent reports that he lacked the support of star guard Jason Kidd, who berated Scott after an embarrassing 110-63 loss in Memphis on Dec. 13.


A source in the Nets' front office told AP that Kidd spoke to management Saturday and said the team need a change in leadership.


Scott was ejected during the third quarter of Sunday's 110-91 victory over the Boston Celtics, which ended a five-game losing streak and kept New Jersey (22-20) from dropping to .500.


Kidd, and forward Kenyon Martin, also took issue with Scott's coaching moves during last year's Finals, including how the coach used former Net Dikembe Mutombo against San Antonio and his reluctance to call for double teams on center/Finals MVP Tim Duncan.


In the series' decisive Game 6, the Spurs went on a 19-0 second-half run that ultimately finished New Jersey.


In the offseason, Kidd was being hotly pursued in free agency by the Spurs, and there were reports claiming that Kidd would not consider re-signing with the Nets unless Scott was fired. Despite their differences, Kidd re-signed with New Jersey for $103 million over six years.


On Friday, the Nets were officially sold to Brooklyn developer Bruce Ratner, who is intent on moving the Nets ac**** the Hudson River to the borough. The rest of the NBA owners must approve the deal as well.


Scott holds the franchise record with 149 coaching victories. After a 25-56 record in his first season, the Nets went 52-30 in 2001-02 and 49-33 in 2002-03 -- losing to the Lakers and the Spurs in the finals.


Scott's dismissal brought to 16 the number of head coach jobs that have turned over since the 2002-03 season. Two weeks ago, the Knicks fired Don Chaney and replaced him Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens.
 

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Back to back Finals...and he gets canned?

Has to be a players revolt....This franchise was a joke for so long..and on the flipside Butch Davis gets a pat on the back?

Go figure
 

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Lawrence Frank named interim coach. A Jeff Van Gundy non player type.

wil.
 

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Nets went to the finals last 2 yrs, Nets are 22-20...just won convincingly vs Boston on Sunday, and byron scott is out? sounds pretty stupid considering Scott played a factor in the team.

GOnna have to FADE the Nets now!
 

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posted January 26, 2004 02:52 PM
I think you guys are missing one key point here, actually 2:

1-It was Scott's game desition of leaving Mutombo out, after he was playing great agaisnt duncan and Robinson, that may have decided at least one game in the finals.
The main reason the Nets got Mutombo was to play agaisnt big guys in the West
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2- The Nets, RIGHT NOW, are not playing consistent basketball, even when they have the same core players, maybe it was time for a change. The expectations are to high for the Nets to be where they are, after 2 trips to the finals you can't think below that, and that's exactly what they are doing.
 

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I guarantee Jason Kidd is kicking himself in the ARSE for signing this past off season!!
 

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I can only wonder why someone would fire a coach that knows all the words to the National Anthem.

wil.
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Nets just proving that they will always be the Nets. Their management is influenced by Yankee and Devils owners, what kind of crap is that? That alone should tell you that the team and their fans just got plain lucky with the East being weak and having good players that actually worked out for a change, especially getting Kidd. This move though is a joke, the guy was getting endless kudos last year and now he is kicked out. Nets management for you, they can't move to Brooklyn quick enough I bet...
 

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Who is Larry Frank?

A former student manager for Bob Knight at Indiana,who has done some good odd jobs like scout for Toronto Raptors and no wonder how he got the jobs thanks to Bob Knight connections,Glen Grunwald and Butchie Carter.
 

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AND TIME HAS PROVED THE NETS STUPID:


<HR style="COLOR: #fdde82" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->
Nets went to the finals last 2 yrs, Nets are 22-20...just won convincingly vs Boston on Sunday, and byron scott is out? sounds pretty stupid considering Scott played a factor in the team.
 

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AND TIME HAS PROVED THE NETS STUPID:
Good thread find..I'm happy for Byron Scott..I got to meet and talk to him last year when his OKC/New Orleans Hornets staged NBA tryouts at the gym that I work out in here in Edmond, Oklahoma..Super nice down to earth guy..
 

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Good thread find..I'm happy for Byron Scott..I got to meet and talk to him last year when his OKC/New Orleans Hornets staged NBA tryouts at the gym that I work out in here in Edmond, Oklahoma..Super nice down to earth guy..
Funny how he turned out to be good at coaching and Magic was absolutely terrible at it.

Although Magic is an incredibly successful entrepreneur.
 

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