http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/108442979939280.xml Sources: Interviews to begin this weekend Scott, several others to meet with Hornets Thursday, May 13, 2004 By Jimmy Smith and John Reid par Staff writers The Hornets will interview several head coaching candidates this weekend, and one of them will be former New Jersey Nets coach Byron Scott, league sources said Wednesday. Between three and five prospects will go through the interview process, and majority owner George Shinn is expected to be more involved in the initial part of the questioning than he was a year ago, when executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager Bob Bass conducted the first interviews. At this point, the team hasn't determined whether a replacement for Bass, who announced his retirement last week, will be hired first, or whether the team will first hire a successor to fired coach Tim Floyd, according to sources. Other than Scott, the Hornets are looking at former NBA head coaches Brian Hill, Mike Fratello, Rudy Tomjanovich and George Karl. Additionally, the team also will look at some high-profile NBA assistant coaches such as native New Orleanian Donald Newman, an assistant with the New Jersey Nets; former Lakers star Michael Cooper, who has coached the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks; Memphis Grizzlies assistant Lionel Hollins; and New Orleanian Avery Johnson, though Johnson is expected to assume a assistant coach position with an NBA team next season. "The word across the league is that Avery has great coaching potential, but he's got to sit on a bench for a while," one source said. Should the Hornets decide to hire a high-profile general manager and a lesser-known head coach, such as a top assistant, sources said that Floyd's top assistant, Alvin Gentry, would be the No. 1 coaching candidate. Gentry has head coaching experience with the Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat. His best record was with the Pistons, where he was 73-72 in three seasons. He also led the perpetually underachieving Clippers to a 39-43 record in the 2001-02 season, the team's best finish in more than 10 years. Meanwhile, Denver Nuggets assistant general manager David Fredman, mentioned as a candidate to replace the departing Bass, said Wednesday that Hornets assistant general manager Allan Bristow may be the best man for the job. "I think Allan would be a great candidate," said Fredman, who has worked in the NBA for more than three decades in a variety of capacities, including coaching, scouting and personnel. "I've known Allan for 25 years. I think that could be who they (the Hornets) are comfortable with. I think that was probably the thought process when they brought Allan in last year. Plus, Allan has a relationship with the owner (Shinn). He was competitive as a player and as a coach, and he'd probably be that way as a general manager." Fredman, who's under contract with the Nuggets, said Wednesday the Hornets had not contacted him about the upcoming basketball operations vacancy. Fredman began his NBA career with the New Orleans Jazz as an intern, eventually becoming an assistant coach when the team moved to Utah as well as an advance scout and contract negotiator while also assisting in draft preparations. . . . . . . . Jimmy Smith can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3814. John Reid can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3787. --

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