Links to the Present: April 16, 2013
2013-04-16
According to reports, Byron Scott will be fired. WFNY has the roundup.
“Scott did give the media pause after the final home game Monday night when he said, “I am going to be back to coach ’em next year.” Asked if he’d been told that, Scott said, “I’ve got a year left on my contract, that’s how I figure it. Unless I’m told differently, that’s the way I approach it.”” [Marla Ridenour – ABJ]
“But has such success as Irving has already experienced changed him? Irving treated the All-Star Game, which he reached in his second season this year, as if it were a basketball beatification ceremony.” [Bill Livingston – PD]
“Moving from left to right on the floor, a 19 point fourth quarter which began with an explosive 3 straight connections in the first 2 and a half minutes of the quarter and culminated with a backbreaking shot from the far parallel line which ended the run of success by the Pistons clinched the greatest moment in the history of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise.” [Cleveland Jackson – Stepien Rules]
“I want to personally apologize to all the Cavs fans for my actions yesterday, it was truly unfair to you guys” [Kyrie Irving Tweet]
“It came on “Fan Appreciation Night,” when Cavs fans do what they always do. They packed the building and went crazy in support of the home team — then left disappointed.” [Sam Amico – FoxSports]
“More disturbing is young All-Star Kyrie Irving, who has played with a late-season malaise that’s reminded everyone that despite his immense talent, he is still very much a 21-year-old. He admitted earlier this season he sometimes doesn’t give his all in games, and that seems to have been an issue lately as well.” [Brian Windhorst – ESPN]
The Cavs are 4th in wins lost due to injury only behind Chicago, Philli, and Minnisota. Our team was extremely thin to begin the season and Coach Scott had less to work once his best players got hurt. He utilized what was given to him as best he could. He made a should have been retired Luke Walton into a serviceable bench guy. and improved the team once we brought in some spare parts in the Memphis trade. Dion clearly developed and that was in large part to the way that Byron handled him. He kept a very close eye… Read more »
The front office isn’t dumb enough to fire Scott, if they do Phil Jackson better be on his way to Cleveland. No one else is better for the job.
“What’s wrong is that Byron Scott is about to get fired, which tells me the Front Office actually did want wins, which then makes me question the Front Office, because if they wanted to win, why start the season with champs like Donald Sloan and Samardo Samuels?” I couldn’t agree more, Rich. This is what is so puzzling about the whole thing to me. Maybe the FO was surprised by how competitive the Cavs were this year and then disappointed that so many winnable games ended up in the loss column. Only 17 of the 57 losses were by 12… Read more »
Consistently at the bottom defensively 3 years straight can not be the fault of the players, failure to adjust his offense and or working to create mismatches when teams shut down his antiquated “princeton” offence. Standing on the sideline with his arms crossed while we blow 27 point leads to Miami…the list goes on and on. Scott needs to go like last year!!! He did have some pluses in the development of some of the younger players but his inconsistant lineups killed us time and time again. What other NBA team would start Zeller? Semi Ehrden was better…lol
Calm down Cols714 like I said before it’s all rumors and speculation on Kyrie’s injuries and such. No one is arguing against you not to rest injured players. People just talking B.S. from what else ? Sports articles and tweets they have read. Vast majority of these posts are opinions of frustrated Cav fans. That’s all it is. This place is a way to vent. No need to shoot the messengers. People need to get it out of their system and reason will usually return in the obviously needed cooling period. So it’s safe to say to expect ridiculousness for… Read more »
once again cols and the overly optimistic fans making no sense… the simple fact is defense didn’t improve AT ALL in the three years. And the argument that he developed players is anecdotal at best
Rich, not saying you are wrong but either side is as plausible as the other.
Rich, or the FO is using the easiest scapegoat for the incessant losing while trying to play it off to the city of Cleveland that we haven’t been tanking for 3 years.
What’s wrong is that Byron Scott is about to get fired, which tells me the Front Office actually did want wins, which then makes me question the Front Office, because if they wanted to win, why start the season with champs like Donald Sloan and Samardo Samuels?
Ugh.
Seriously. The Cavs are well set. The doomers and gloomers don’t know what they are talking about. Of course you rest your best players when there is nothing to play for and they are injured. Of course you don’t sign veterans that eat up your cap space just to try to make the playoffs in the 2nd year of the rebuild. Of course you ask your fans (who you hope are a bit smart) to be patient while you build a winner.
The Cavs are doing everything right. What is wrong with you people?
If we traded Kyrie for Westbrook then we would no longer have a point guard …. zing.
I would consider trading Kyrie for Westbrook. I’d probably like to see one more season of Kyrie before doing it though, just to see where he ends up. If he doesn’t make a BIG jump next year, then he’s likely not going to. Which is ok, because he’ll still be a guy who makes quite a few all-star games and gives you a 20 PER every year. But he’s not going to enter that rarified air of 25+ PER and MVP conversation.
Ill be kinda pissed if he gets fired right now. The whole season has been about winning next year, not right now. Ya, if we dont make it to the playoffs next year, get a new coach. But give him have the opportunity
Comment monster!
I wonder if Mike Malone from Golden State would be interested? He’s defensive minded, credited with a lot of Jackson’s success at GS and (probably) looking for his first head coach gig. He’s also an ex Cavs assistant.
No, Dani. Westbrook is a headcase, and I think his noggin would explode on this team. If he didn’t have Durant and Ibaka helping him out, his field goal percentage would plummet, too.
If the Cavs get Nerlens Noel, would you trade Andy??? i think a young SF would be perfect!
so i thought about MKG, which would give us a nice chance for a top 6 Defense with Nerlens and MKG.
We would have to swallow the poison pill tyrus Thomas + giving up Gee, but i dont want to hope for 2014.
We need a better Team now…
bye guys, nice work
Greetings from Germany
Michael
Would you guys trade Kyrie for Russell Westbrook? Just wondering.
Not sure who we can bring in as a coach that is going to be better than Scott. Phil Jackson ain’t walking through that door.
Re: Kyrie’s perceived unhappiness – Winning solves everything. To be honest, the onus is on Chris Grant to solidify this roster so the Cavs can make a playoff push while leaving cap space for Lebron. Figure out which guys are here long term and bring in the necessary talent to make The Leap next year.
Anything else is just running in place.
Agreed, Rich. This isn’t Sacramento, and he’s not playing for some lunatic like P.J. Carlesimo from the late 90s (who, to his credit, has learned to be a more constructive, less demonstrative coach). Byron Scott is always professional and amiable, and doesn’t embarrass his players to the media or the public. Kyrie could have it a heck of a lot worse. Irving needs to stop being a diva on both ends of the court, and off it too. I’ve got no qualms about trading him if it gets the Cavs a better player in return, and gets them a step… Read more »
TV63- That’s a Kyrie problem. I hate when players act like divas that we give them outs by blaming the coach or the situation. Nah, that’s all on him. You don’t placate to a players acting out. You stand up to him and let him know who runs the show and who doesn’t. And I agree with Gordon, if they fire Scott they better tell me why and be very clear. Because if it has anything to do with W-L’s, then Chris Grant should probably be fired as well and Dan Gilbert should be selling the team, because they flat… Read more »
Also, how dumb would it be to play slightly injured players with star potential? What would the Cavs gain by playing an injured Irving and Waiters? The answer is nothing. When you are not going to make the playoffs and are simply playing out the season it makes too much sense to let the players heal properly than to push them when they are injured.
It’s the common sense move.
This shouldn’t linger too long. Exit interviews are this week. I’ve been a support of Scott’s for a while and still question if firing him solves the depth and youth on the roster. Other teams have quit on him before though.
@ Ross Hear ya on the sarcasm of new injury. This is all speculation and rumors of course. But this part is true. Scott has always made it clear over and over on the subject of injuries. He would rather sit his player out and allow them recover and play 100% than allow them to play still injured and play like crap. It is speculated that Kyrie balked at that this last time and came back a little too soon. There seem to be some sniping about that 2 weeks ago when reporters asked Scott how long would it take… Read more »
Whatever happens here, Dan Gilbert and Chris Grant need to be very clear with everyone – new coach, players, fans, moving forward. Why did you fire Byron Scott? What didn’t you like about the product on the floor? What are you going to do to improve it next season while also keeping enough cap space for a max contract FA in 2014? What do you expect from this team? What is unacceptable? Be clear moving forward. The front office needs to step up and make it known that the ultimate goal is a championship, and any player that is not… Read more »
Actually the short leash my be a good idea. The Cavs would fire Scott for one of two reasons: W-L record or irreconcilable differences with their star. If it is W-L record then the new coach has no excuse for not winning immediately if he has a full off-season to work with the team. They fired the last coach because he didn’t win with these players so the new coach had better be better right from the get go. And no injuries cannot be used as an excuse either. If it was about conflict with the star then the situation… Read more »
@ Cory
Not to mention the new coach would be much better off with a full off-season to prepare.
I’d rather Scott be gone than have a short leash and get fired two weeks into next season. If you’re going in a new direction the organization needs to be all in.
It would be disappointing to see the Cavs fire Byron Scott because they were impatient, with the same process they want the Cavs fans to be patient with. Unless there is something more behind Kyrie’s maturity backslide, that is attributable to his relationship with Scott, I find it hard to justify firing a coach for working within his job description. His extension tells me that the Cavs FO was okay with his player development and that wins and losses were on the back burner. If Kyrie’s attitude is the cause of the unrest is he any different than AI, a… Read more »
That’s Byron Scott. I don’t get this. Byron Scott’s one, big criticism throughout his career is he’s hard on players to the point that they stop liking him. So, if Byron Scott were not the coach the last three years and we were looking for a guy to come in and be tough on guys like Kyrie, Byron Scott would be at the top of the list.
I have thought that Scott was a good (though not great) coach with young talent, a team decimated with injuries thru no fault of his own, and a roster that was clearly not built to win this season. This team didn’t even have a semblance of an actually competitive NBA bench until the trade shortly before the trading deadline with the Griz. And you can’t convince me this wasn’t by design because we had plenty of cap space to make this team more competitive (re: mediocre) if that was the desire. So with all that being said, I thought people… Read more »
Mallory
I highly doubt that players like to play for a coach who is screaming at them constantly. This isn’t pee wee football.
Steve –
I agree that’s definitely the plan – the worry is Kyrie fights back hard. I really hope that’s not that case – it likely isn’t, but it’s a possibility. In reality, the Cavs now need a coach who is going to tear these guys a new one every time they stop giving 100%.
Kyrie was apologzing for being the only Cavs player to exit the floor at the conclusion of the game without sticking around for Fan Appreciation Night. The players signed their jerseys and shoes and gave them away to fans. Kyrie split right after the game concluded.
First of all, what was Kyrie apologizing for? Secondly, the talk of whether Byron Scott being fired is fair or unfair or whether he is at fault is completely beside the point. As I pointed out in my recap, life is inherently unfair. Byron will make next year’s salary regardless of whether he is coaching the Cavs or not. I’m not crying for him. His sense of self satisfaction will take little damage. It’s obvious that the team needs a change of direction. The malaise of the players and the fans needs to change. The culture needs to change. That… Read more »
Mallory
What would you have done? Wasted cap space and playing time by signing veterans so you can maybe somehow compete for the 8th spot? What good would that do?
As is, the 2nd year of rebuilding is done and we now have tons of cap room and good draft picks. This is a much much much better situation to be in than maybe making an 8th seed but not having cap room and draft picks.
Letting a player or the media dictate your organization’s actions is a sign of wea… I’m not all in for firing Scott just to do it. Dogs are domesticated wolves and we’re just as savage as we were 500 years ago. We’ve just learned to hid it. We want a goat and we want to see it’s blood. We want a public sacrifice so world can see the pain we’ve been through. If Scott is fired I’d prefer a hot assistant who is tired of writing his name in the sand and is ready to put his signature in the… Read more »
Mallory – if Kyrie is going to be a sulking mess because of a situation he played no small part in creating, you give him a swift kick in the rear, and yesterday. Gordon – We’ll see what happens with the change in direction this offseason, but I don’t see any evidence that Gilbert has this close to figured out. Scott was supposed to be the guy that won’t take BS and be the clear leader of the new team. But he was no more than a big name in an empty suit. Kyrie didn’t want to get better on… Read more »
3 problems with firing Scott: 1) This team was not built to win this year. After the Memphis trade, when they actually had a bench, the team played .500 ball – tough to penalize Scott for not winning with a team that wasn’t designed to win until the trade deadline. 2) I really thought Byron’s coaching influence was showing through Dion Waiters. He has really improved since early in the season, and the benching from Scott was likely a big factor in that. I thought he has handled Dion very well. 3) We have no viable alternative. SVG? Phil Jackson?… Read more »
WOW! I really hope and think that report is bogus… would be cold blooded to do that to Byron when we are poised to win next season. Injuries and lousy roster not his fault he def deserves the benefit of the doubt and to complete his contract. We all knew this is rebuilding and they have done a damn good job of getting a core to develop, and we are still adding to it via this year’s draft.
I think Gilbert learned from the LeBron James fiasco that letting a young star player dictate things is not the way to go. I have no doubt Gilbert will bring a coach in that is going to force Kyrie to commit and won’t take sh*t from him.
Bring in a coach that is going to make Kyrie commit to playing defense every minute he is on the court, for the entire season. This team will never make it to the NBA Finals if Kyrie Irving does not improve his defense.
Ah, so it’s all the losing that has caused Kyrie to act and play like this? See, I was under the impression the teams best player is supposed to actually lead and set an example.
More accurate: Kyrie Irving’s play is one of the primary causes of all the losing. Were he playing up to his abilities, there wouldn’t be nearly as much of it.
And if this is what Irving is and no more, then you don’t put a better team “around him.” You find a guy you can actually put a team around, because he isn’t it.
buhbye scott. It may not be his fault (Maybe it was directed to him by front office strategy) but he doesn’t have the players trust or commitment right now. The guys need a fresh start with someone who has a chance to light a fire under their butts.
I agree Kevin, but Healthy Andy is always a risk, and we’ll need Kyrie to show some signs of improvement. Year 2 was a wash with year 1 for him outside of an extra 4 minutes a game, and slightly improved, though still very awful defense.
Steve –
I agree, but if Kyrie is going to be a sulking mess, there are really only two options. 1. Put a better team around him or 2. Cut bait. I doubt anyone wants to enact #2.
If this were a movie/play, I think we would be looking at the 2nd act right now. The dark part where everything seems like it is in the shitter.
Otto Porter and a healthy Varejao can bring this team out of the cellar
Or, Kyrie could have learned to play a lick of defense this year, and been a leader and pushed other players to improve defensively as well, then we could have been much better than 26th in D-Eff, which would have gone a long way toward being a decent team.
It’s pretty obvious all this losing has taken its toll on Kyrie. If the Cavs were competitive, I have no doubt he’d be trying to light it up. Just another reason teams can’t be cellar dwellers for too long.
Can’t say I’m a fan of firing Scott, but if there’s a better option out there for this team, let’s see it.