Nets fire Byron Scott

...Jason Kidd got his wish.

Kidd sure did. I'm sure he has an uncle or cousin waiting in the wings to be his replacment.

I wonder how Plaw's going to take this. Now the Sixers need to fire Ayers. -Pat

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Jan. 26) -- Byron Scott was fired Monday as coach of the New Jersey Nets, the team he led to the NBA Finals the past two seasons.

Scott's agent, Brian McInerney, confirmed the dismissal to The Associated Press. Assistant coach Lawrence Frank was expected to replace Scott, ESPN.com reported, citing league sources.

The Nets scheduled a "major'' afternoon news conference Monday, but team spokesmen would not comment on the subject.

Scott was in his third season with the Nets and was in the final year of his contract.

"He has absolutely no resentment or anger,'' McInerney said. "He's going down as the winningest coach in Nets' history.''

McInerney said Scott met with Nets president with Rod Thorn on Monday.

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

Management had refused to give him an extension while the team was for sale. It was sold Friday to developer Bruce Ratner, who plans to move the team to Brooklyn.

A source in the Nets' front office, speaking of condition of anonymity, told the AP the decision to fire Scott was reached after Friday night's loss to Miami.

The source said All-Star guard Jason Kidd spoke to management Saturday and said the team need a change in leadership.

The Nets (22-20), in first place in the Atlantic Division, next play Tuesday night at Philadelphia.

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 from dropping to .500.

Kidd, an All-Star guard, clashed with Scott last month after a 47-point loss at Memphis, and Scott led the Nets to five victories in their next six games. That earned him the NBA's coach of the month award.

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.

Kidd spoke to the management and said they needed a change? Looks somebody's ego needs to take a breather. Some people place too much importance on themselves. :rolleyes:

I'd like to see Phil Jackson take him on as an assistant.

Watch Scott immediately take over somewhere where there's a bad coach, like in Orlando or Miami.

When the Nets were negotiating to sign Kidd back in July, the talk was that he would only re-sign if Scott was fired.

Supposedly, Kidd was looking to go to San Antonio, the only title contender with the cap room, but after Tony Parker played pretty well in the finals, and the Spurs won the title without Kidd, their offer kind of dried up.

Meanwhile, Byron Scott supposedly leaked Kidd's ultimateum to the press, and neither Kidd nor the Nets wanted Scott's blood on their hands, so without San Antonio's bid, the Nets were able to re-sign Kidd and Scott kept his job.

Clearly, though, it was a matter of time. Scott was on the last year of his contract, and if the Nets were unwilling to give him an extension after leading a once horrible team to the finals for two straight years, you had to figure the writing was on the wall.

The reality is that in pro sports today, the players are the talent, not the coaches, and that seems to especially be the case in basketball, where one star player can make a huge difference, more so than the other sports.

As my neighbor Just Lou said, "Jason Kidd got his wish."

In Kidd's defense, however, I gotta say that it was more his leadership than Scott's that got the team to the finals the last two years.

Are you nuts man? If this were true, the Sixers would be a hell of a team. Ayers can't do anything. I hope they get Scott. Larry Brown would've taken this Sixer team to the finals. It is much more talented then the piece of shit we had last year. -Pat