Pilot Flying J affidavit and the impact on the Browns – WFNY Podcast – 2013-04-19
April 19, 2013The Browns and the First Round: Geno Smith
April 19, 2013I still remember the day Byron Scott was hired to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers.
I remember driving in my car and thinking to myself, “You know, I think I really like this hire. Even if LeBron does leave, at least the Cavaliers will play an exciting brand of basketball and be fun to watch.”
Three years later, Byron Scott is no longer the coach of the Cavaliers, and I find myself thinking about how refreshing this is because maybe now the Cavaliers will be fun to watch again. I would call that irony, but in Cleveland, we know it as reality.
It’s funny because up until about three weeks ago, I was positive Byron would be back next season. My confidence in the wisdom of that had long since deteriorated, but I felt that in the spirit of fairness, Byron probably was going to get another year to see what he could do with a healthy roster.
Of course, nothing about Byron Scott’s tenure in Cleveland was fair. It wasn’t fair when the best player on the planet walked away from the franchise before he could even coach him in a single workout. It wasn’t fair when The Left Behinds refused to play and suffered an NBA record losing streak. It wasn’t fair that Anderson Varejao couldn’t stay healthy when the team needed him the most. It wasn’t fair that Chris Grant was giving Byron Scott undrafted D-League players and forcing him to give them meaningful NBA minutes. It wasn’t fair that Byron had to coach a starting five containing two rookies and two second-year players. And it certainly isn’t fair that he was fired before he could see his rebuilding work through to the end.
Unfortunately for Byron Scott, professional sports aren’t about fairness. And even more unfortunate for Byron Scott, firing him at this time was absolutely the right move for this franchise.
The Cleveland Browns once gave Eric Mangini a second year out of fairness. Everyone knew it wouldn’t work. Mike Holmgren was the new boss and new bosses like to have “their guys” in key roles. Eric Mangini isn’t a Mike Holmgren guy. But because Holmgren felt it wouldn’t be fair to Mangini to fire him after one season, he decided to let him coach a 2nd year. It was an enormous mistake that caused the Browns rebuilding project to freeze in time, treading water while everyone around them in the NFL was moving forward.
So no, firing Byron Scott was most definitely not fair to him. But teams cannot make decisions based on fairness. They need to always be doing what is in the best interest of the franchise. The Cavaliers didn’t work for Byron Scott…Byron Scott worked for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Ultimately, the Cavaliers are going to do what they feel is best for their franchise, whether that is fair or not.
So why was this the best move for the Cavaliers? Well, it certainly has nothing to do with wins and losses. I’ve seen plenty of Byron supporters saying it doesn’t make sense that the team built rosters that were designed to lose, and then fired Byron for not winning. That’s not the case.
Byron Scott was never expected to win games. Despite some casual lip service about the playoffs being the team’s goal this season, nobody expected this team to make the playoffs. I predicted the Cavaliers would go 34-48 and finish 10th in the East. But even that felt a little optimistic to me at the time. I was ready for a 30 win season. So obviously 24-58 is a pretty disappointing record. But that’s not why I think firing him is the right move, and I don’t believe it’s why the Cavaliers made this move.
It ultimately comes down to common sense, confidence, and timing.
There’s an inherent quality to coaching in the NBA. Sure, the teams with the best players usually win. But when you watch NBA teams play, you know a well coached team when you see it. When you watched the Cavaliers, they showed all the tell-tale signs of a poorly coached team.
There was no offensive identity to this team. Byron came in 3 years ago and said we were going to see a high tempo running team with a Princeton-based offense in the half court sets. Other than the offense initiating from the high post, there was little resembling the Princeton offense. Not much ball movement, atrocious spacing, not enough moving without the ball. Everything boiled down to isolation plays and a lot of stationary dribbling. Sure, the Cavaliers had a good thing going with Andy and Kyrie running the pick and roll, but good coaches need to adapt when players get hurt. One thing that should never happen is a team not have an identity.
As for this fast break running team stuff, the Cavaliers were 11th in the NBA in fast break points in Byron’s first season. Last year they were 25th and this year they were 24th. The Cavaliers were 28th in the NBA (or, third-worst, if you prefer) in fast break efficiency. If you are a coach preaching fast break, high tempo offense, the team should not be 3rd worst in fast break efficiency regardless of injuries.
Sure, the overall offensive efficiency has gone up, from 29th to 24th to 19th this year. But the defense has never been better than 26th in efficiency. This year the Cavaliers were dead last in opponents FG%, 25th in opponents’ 3P%, 25th in opponents’ PPG, 29th in defensive eFG%, and 27th in defensive efficiency. Nobody was expecting the Cavaliers to finish in the top 10 in these categories or anything like that. Not with the injuries to key players.
But the team has to show some sign of life. Byron had to give Chris Grant something…anything…that they could point to as positive momentum and signs of development. Instead, the defense stood and watched pick and rolls, incapable of being bothered to dig in and give the effort that is required to either fight through screens or to make a good, crisp switch. And in the 2nd line of defense, players were always late on their help rotations, signaling a stunning lack of communication and defensive intensity.
Sure, the players are culpable here as well. But at the end of the day, it’s the coach’s job to make sure players are giving effort. To make sure communication is happening on defense. To make sure the players are pushing the tempo if that’s the style you want to play.
Three years of losing can do a lot of damage to a team. For all of his shortcomings, Byron certainly deserves credit for holding the morale of the team together. His players seemed to genuinely like him for the most part. I like Byron Scott and I think he can be a good coach somewhere else. But over the last month, it has become more clear to me than ever that Byron Scott just isn’t the right coach for this team.
And that leads to the last point of why the Cavaliers made this move. And this is maybe the most important one: timing. Next year is the watershed season for the rebuilding process. Another year like this and we can officially say the rebuild is a massive failure. I’m not saying the team needs to make the playoffs next year. But it’s time to get out of neutral and to start moving forward. Build an identity, show some improvement, breathe some life into this team.
If the Cavaliers did the “fair” thing and gave Byron another year, they would’ve had to have had 100% confidence that Byron was the man to take this team to the playoffs and beyond. Because firing Byron Scott in the middle of next season is the worst case scenario. Certainly a worse scenario than perhaps unfairly dismissing him now.
The Lakers waited to long to remove a coach they didn’t have confidence in. And it pretty much derailed their whole season. If they weren’t confident in Mike Brown, they should have fired him at the end of last season. And the for the Cavaliers, if they didn’t have confidence in Byron Scott, the time to move on was right now. And based on what Byron Scott has showed us for three seasons, I don’t know how Dan Gilbert and Chris Grant could have confidence that he’s the right man for this particular job.
I’ve felt for most of this season that a losing culture was settling in. That’s a hard thing for any coach to undo. But as this season wore on, it felt like the players had lost the will to fight for wins. This began to look like a team that, maybe didn’t “accept” losing, but that walked onto the court every night believing they were going to lose. When teams went on runs, there was a “here we go again” look on their faces and they were unable to keep from spiraling out of control. It’s a coach’s job to change that demeanor, but it’s hard for a coach that can subconsciously be associated with the losing culture.
So it was just time. It’s time to move forward and bring a new voice in the locker room. Sometime that’s all a team needs. Since we all love the Oklahoma City model so much, we can liken this to Scott Brooks taking over for PJ Carlesimo. PJ is a damn good basketball coach with a world of experience. But that wasn’t what the Thunder needed. They needed a new voice. A refreshing sense of new air. A spark and some excitement.
Like Carlesimo, Byron is well respected and has a ton of basketball experience and knowledge. But it wasn’t what these young players needed. They need their Scott Brooks. And so now the pressure of this rebuilding process moves from Byron Scott squarely on to Chris Grant’s shoulders. The bespectacled one must get this next hire right. The entire future of the Cavaliers with Kyrie Irving likely is riding on this next coach being the perfect fit who can coerce effort on defense out of these players while also nurturing their growth and development as players and as men.
And so here I sit, three long years after Byron Scott was hired. I feel the same excitement today as I did back then. I’m not excited that Byron didn’t work out or that he was fired. I actually like Byron Scott a lot. No, I’m just excited at the prospect of a fresh start and a new direction. Hopefully three years from now I’ll be writing a very different summary of the next coach’s tenure.
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Image Source: (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
69 Comments
I don’t think his firing was particularly unfair. Yes, the team was young, often riddled with injury, and bereft of talent in a number of spots.
But, even when taking those factors into consideration, Scott demonstrated a number of shortcomings. The blown leads, abhorrent defense, suspect rotations, poor use of time outs, and as you noted, terrible fast breaks. Just as at team replaces players who aren’t performing their duties up to snuff, so to does it replace a coach.
At some point, the Cleveland sports community adopted a definition of “fairness” that included “allowing someone to continuously fail.” We needed to let Brady Quinn fail more. We needed to let Mangini fail more. We needed to let Colt fail more. We need to let Scott fail more.
This is professional sports, and that’s not how it works.
Great Recap. Mangini was brought back because he finished 4-1 or something, Byron might have been brought back had the season ended on a similar uptick (in February, a popular sentiment was, ‘look what Byron can do with an actual NBA Roster!’. 5 key points to remember:
1. Team defense regressed each year and Kyrie made Jeff Mcinnis look like Gary Payton
2. The half court offense had no identity outside of when Walton/Livingston were doing their thing (which is probably more those two being savvy veterans and having great court vision than an effective playbook)
3. Timeout useage was abysmal
4. Substitution patterns were erratic at best
5. Multiple 20 point leads were blown, obviously we were short on talent, but some of that blame must fall on the coach
One correction: the Cavs MUST make the playoffs next year. Period. No exceptions. They can’t have another year outside of the playoffs. They need to make that next step. That’s not an option
Hit the nail on the head. Excellent read
I agree with most of the above. I respect Byron for what he went through with the Cavs, but it was the right time to let him go. If we had some sort of identity on offense/defense, then maybe I would feel differently.
Also, the NBA is evolving. The offenses are less Iso and more DDR-weakside kickout. The Calipari offense on steroids (basically). I will never mind going in a different direction than the general crowd, but it has to be a specific direction/plan. I’d prefer to do it with a coach that is heavily involved with the defensive switches that are forcing this evolution (and can stay ahead on offense).
Mike Malone (asst. to Mike Brown before and now Mark Jackson for GS’s renaissance) is a name that has been brought up. He is intriguing.
Some other names:
David Joeger (Mem) – lots of HC experience in minor leagues. same path as Phil Jackson to NBA HC?
Melvin Hunt (Den) – another Mike Brown asst. finding success elsewhere. Karl raves about him.
Terry Porter (Minn) – if we want to go the former NBA HC route.
Brian Shaw (Ind) – the obvious asst. candidate.
“At some point, the Cleveland sports community adopted a definition of
“fairness” that included “allowing someone to continuously fail.” We
needed to let Brady Quinn fail more. We needed to let Mangini fail more.
We needed to let Colt fail more. We need to let Scott fail more.”
And Matt LaPorta. (“When are we finally going to give him a real look at 1B?!”)
Agree with all of this, Andrew. The Mangini Fairness comparison was in my head before I read this. Unlike Mangini, can’t say he restored order here after the roster strip down. Forget the win number, there’s no team-wide trait that can be attributed to Byron. The biggest consistency was lack of player effort, and that is not related to the talent level of players. I just don’t have the feeling he was shafted yesterday. The minimum was expected and he didn’t provide that.
Once, just after his first season, I had the opportunity to see Byron interact with regular folk at a place he frequents and chatted with him myself for a minute. Have to say he did not give off even a whiff of the “I’m Important/You’re Not” attitude so common among ex-star athletes and coaches. Just seems like a genuinely decent person. I wish him well. Won’t feel too bad for him; he’ll get another gig before too long.
Brian Shaw
Why is he bringing Phil Jackson with him?
Point #3 sticks out to me. Everyone railed against Brown’s offenses, but there were way too many times when Irving and Waiters did exactly what Lebron was doing.
Where in the world is Dan Gilbert? The days of mugging/commentating/showing up to Cavaliers games have ended. It was nice he let Chris Grant sit up there alone and announce the “release” I mean firing of Scott. Oh well time to turn the cheek and see who the next victim becomes in Cleveland as a head coach.
I don’t entirely agree if anything the Cleveland sports community jumps all over it’s head coaches while the owners receive passes. Scott did the Cavaliers a favor taking this job especially after LBJ left. Perhaps he should have turned collegiate players into professionals in three years but I don’t see much of that happening in the NBA these days.
Obviously Scott was to blame for everything so this means next year we can expect what 30-40 wins perhaps even the playoffs?
There are only 30 NBA head coaching jobs in the world. Taking a head coaching job in the NBA is never a “favor”. And regarding your other comment, nor was Byron Scott a victim. He got paid pretty well for 3 years to do a mostly lousy job of coaching. Tough to really feel sorry for him, even if the deck always seemed to be stacked against him.
They did not have the “tell-tale signs of a poorly coached team” they had the tell-tale signs of a ridiculously young team. Period.
Coaching is 3rd on the Top 3 reasons for winning in the NBA. Talent and Experienced players being the other. Go look at the avg. age of NBA Champs.
Did Doc Rivers stop sucking as a coach or did he go to team with superstar veterans. Yeah, exactly.
Don’t get me feeling like Scott was a sacrificial lamb with feeling sad for him. Sure he got paid they all do and much like the tradition in Cleveland the Cavaliers can pay Scott for a fourth season while he is home with his family. The favor comment comes from not seeing or hearing a long list of names who were interested in coaching the Cavaliers even when LBJ was still on the team, sort of.
great point!
Doc Rivers is still a lousy coach. Really great talent is why the Celtics got better.
This has nothing to do with excuses about age, injuries, talent, etc. It’s not like I’m saying this team should have been contending for the playoffs. It’s about development, improvement, and just in general installing some kind of system or identity. I’m sorry, but the Cavaliers absolutely look like a poorly coached team due to things like effort, intensity, carelessness with the ball, poor timeout management, blowing huge leads on a consistent basis, etc, etc, etc.
Are you implying that somehow Gilbert is to blame? How do you figure?
I am definitely learned in the Dance Dance Revolution offense. I didn’t know it was becoming so popular!!!
Again all the things you mention are signs of a completely INEXPERIENCED TEAM! They have no identity cuz they don’t know how to play yet. My God, that is not hard to understand. The mis-placed paternalism that permeates sports is nuts. The cach maters the LEAST in the NBA. That is why they are fired so easily and quickly. They are literally a dime-a-dozen. Ok, not really literally but close!
Furthermore, the three most TALENTED players on the Cavs showed definite “development” and improvement, something you claimed not to see. Huh. Wonder why the most talented guys seem to develop the most? Curious…
I like Doc Rivers guess that shows how much I know. Really great talent is what every team aspires to have since when is that supposed to be a negative? All Pat Riley and Phil Jackson did was ride talent to titles.
Btw when you talk about characteristics like effort, intensity, carelessness with the ball that reminds me of just how young the players are on the Cavaliers. Irving, Thompson and Waiters should still be in college not the NBA. This might go to the overall watering down of basic basketball principles which is a larger problem. I think it also points to the issue of coaching athletes who make so much money too.
I don’t know what Gilbert does or doesn’t do but he’s the owner and approves/disapproves of what his franchise does so in the end just like the Dolans yes the buck stops with him.
To what end? Just because Scott was a sub-par coach and was fired doesn’t mean Gilbert is a sub-par owner and should be pressured to sell the team.
Huh what who said anything about selling the team? I’m saying Gilbert in the end is responsible for the coaching changes. I didn’t even say Gilbert was sub-par I’m simply saying that owners have to be held just as accountable is all regardless of the sport.
That’s one of my top priorities when it comes to head coaching, how they utilize timeouts!
It’s not a negative. Nor is it supposed to be.
Youth is just an excuse. Young players go play for good coaches and give great effort all the time. It’s just not hard to see the Cavaliers are a poorly coached team. It’s just that some people like to write them off as excuses rather than a problem.
No need to yell, this is just sports.
By all accounts, Tristan’s development only occurred once he worked with Ilgauskas. Kyrie’s development is debatable as he clearly regressed down the stretch. Same with Dion.
I’m just not interested in excuses like youth, injuries, etc. Those things happen and did have an impact in this case. But over the course of 3 years, Byron just didn’t do enough to make an imprint on this team in a positive way. Good coaches will never use things like age, experience, and injuries as excuses. They just coach around them.
I won’t just imply it. Gilbert thought we would contend in the first year without Lebron, so he delayed the rebuild. Varejao should have been traded for a talented young player or two, and Gilbert should have looked for a coach who could help this team grow, and not just the biggest name he could get to come into town in hopes that Lebron would be swayed to re-sign.
Man, you’ve got me covered today. Obviously #2.
LOL – Do you reeeeeally think Gilbert was serious in the Comic Sans letter? He was angry and it was lip service for the fans.
Also, me thinks you are confusing Owner with GM.
Look, I get that “the buck stops with Gilbert.” But you guys are really stretching to make this “somehow not Scott’s fault.”
Alright, that’s fair. So we can say, “Dan, that wasn’t the best hire, even though you probably made it to try to entice LBJ to stay.”
Before we start to lambaste Gilbert too much, let’s first let him trade away a few Cy Young winners in back to back seasons or be the subject of an FBI/IRS investigation.
I think most NBA head coaches wish young players gave great efforts all the time but it doesn’t happen. I think these players have become increasingly younger and less mature and as a result need a minimum of two years before showing what they can do. This doesn’t apply to all young players but a majority. There is a reason the Clevelands, Sacramentos, Washingtons and Charlottes continually pick at the top of the draft and it’s not all coaching.
Just my opinion though.
Oh, for sure it’s not all coaching. I don’t think anyone is saying all of the Cavs’ problems were Byron’s fault. I’m just saying he didn’t show any signs of being a good coach for these players, and that was my concern. I think a new direction was needed. Hopefully Chris Grant can bring more talent in and the players can give more effort for a new coach. They are all culpable to varying degrees.
Yes, Gilbert was absolutely serious. He may have come around to realize how ridiculous he sounded, but he tried to get this team competitive well past the letter.
Opening night, the Cavs started Varejao, Moon, and Parker, and brought more veterans off the bench. They were trying to win until it became all too apparent that there was no way that was going to happen.
And I put a lot on Scott. This team made zero improvements defensively under his leadership, a huge problem in my book. But Gilbert’s intent on winning immediately, and hiring a coach to placate Lebron instead of developing young talent certainly set us back.
I like Shaw and Malone. Would be thrilled if they hired either one.
That’s how I am man I blanket my opponent, I envelop him, I get in his mug and I let him know, “I’ll be here all day sucka!”
Well if Scott was hired as an enticement for LeBron then that makes matters even worse for me. Who knows who cares it’s water over the bridge I’m just so sick and tired of all of the head coaching failures in Cleveland that I want to scream!
But I’m with you 1000% on the rest of your comment. This speaks to my more encompassing comments as to failures in Cleveland starting at the top with the owners. I’m sorry but I’m really enjoying the whole Haslam thing and I know that seems sort of sadistic but seriously, only in Cleveland!
On this we agree I’m just less then optimistic that it’ll happen. So I shake hands, chest bump, bow, curtsy, bump elbows and go in peace being greatful I didn’t get the Schnitkey’d out of me! ;o)
Really? Dion regressed? Go look at the post-All-Star numbers. Look at Kyrie’s numbers compared to last year.Seriously, when you say things like that and that youth and injuries are “excuses” you sound like a really uniformed guy at a bar. Good coaches win with talent and experience. I can give you countless examples. I have yet to see you give *one* example of a young, injured team being coached well.
The fact that coaches have almost no value beyond maybe 3 or 4 in the whole of league proves my point that coaching is a distant 3rd in the Reasons NBA Teams Win list. Coaches don’t last and have little value. Period. Players matter.
So when Popovich nevers uses TO’s and lets his team “get the message,” he is a genius but when Byron does it, it’s a main reason he deserved to be fired? Logic!
This part show the absolute ludicrousness of this debate. Coaching doesn’t matter. Get it through your head.
McHale called worst coach ever at Minny; gets Harden and Asik in Houston? Playoff coach!
Just so we’re clear here, then, since coaches don’t matter, then whether they kept or fired Byron makes no difference, right?
I think David Joerger is my favorite of the bunch.
or DDM. but, I like this dance-dance idea. sounds a bit like the 90’s Warrior teams.
McHale was the worst GM in Minny. He was always a good coach.
Basically, yes!
Really? A guy who went 20-43 his last season with Minny and was asked not to return? I guess we have differing ideas on what “good” constitutes…
I just don’t know enough about him to have an opinion of him either way.
Good, then we can stop arguing about this, haha.
agree. Many say we want to dump everyone immediately, I think it’s the opposite, whether Colt or Mangini or Brady or people claiming 32 year old Shelley Duncan just needs a chance. We’re so used to awfulness that we’re ready to make heroes of the mediocre. Bingo Smith’s jersey is in the rafters and give him time, JJ Hickson would only be a second year graduate student if he had stayed in college. People who have lived in other cities know: this is one of the easiest places to play and manage.