http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1084008308296550.xml MOVING AHEAD Shinn on a mission to see Hornets ascend to the next level Saturday, May 08, 2004 John DeShazier Forget the impression you may have formed of Hornets majority owner George Shinn a year ago, when he fired Paul Silas and disappeared for a month rather than answer questions and address the fallout head-on. That man no longer exists. Friday wasn't an occasion to celebrate Tim Floyd's demise after one season as head coach of the Hornets. The hope was that the Hornets would be successful on his watch. But it was an opportunity to see the best of Shinn, who, via the dismissal of Floyd following a 41-41 regular season and first-round playoff exit, admitted the franchise made an error, corrected it and vowed that a lesson has been learned. "We hired a coach that we thought could help us make a run to the next level and we weren't successful," Shinn said, reading from a prepared statement, refusing to point a critical finger at Floyd. "We've just got to get better," he said later. "I don't feel like we did." And, later, more: "Most of you guys have followed our games, you know things went wrong." Not as wrong as they could've gone, but wrong enough, for sure. "Tim Floyd is a good person," Shinn said. "He is a wonderful human being. This is tough to have to do something like this. It's something we didn't want to do." But it's something that had to be done if the Hornets want to be taken seriously by a fan base that shrunk last season and a league that ridiculed the hiring. And now the Hornets move onward and, hopefully, upward, behind a new coach and general manager (they need one of those, too, after Bob Bass retired Wednesday) who have an idea what it takes to be successful on the NBA level and won't be dismissed by players as novelty acts. "We're looking for someone that's capable, that's succeeded in the NBA (before), that's going to carry us to the next level," Shinn said of his desires in a coach. Byron Scott, who led the Nets to the past two Eastern Conference championships before being fired during this season, comes to mind. So does Lakers assistant Jim Cleamons, who has sat on the bench next to Phil Jackson for four titles in Chicago and three in Los Angeles. Mike Fratello, who led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference semifinals in 1986 and '87, is available if the Hornets want to do the coach-turned-television-analyst-returns-to-coaching thing, a la Hubie Brown and the Grizzlies. Portland gave Coach Maurice Cheeks permission to talk to the 76ers. Maybe the Trail Blazers won't mind if Cheeks -- a former point guard who won an NBA title with the Sixers in 1983 -- talks to the Hornets, too. And Rudy Tomjanovich, who led the Rockets to back-to-back titles in 1994 and '95, might be rested and ready to return to the league after a year away. Shinn said he already has a preliminary list, but Bass will be instrumental in making the coaching decision. But the search shouldn't stretch too long or qualified candidates will be hired by other teams. And certainly, it shouldn't parallel last year's search, when Houston snagged Jeff Van Gundy and his NBA Finals experience, Indiana pounced on Rick Carlisle and his consecutive 50-win seasons and the Hornets plucked Floyd, who then had the worst winning percentage in NBA history. "We all learn through experiences, and we've learned," Shinn said. Friday, you got the genuine impression that he had. And that's a very, very good thing. . . . . . . . John DeShazier can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3410. --

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