http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/108460236430270.xml Hornets need to target coach, get him quickly Saturday, May 15, 2004 John DeShazier Pursuing Byron Scott is a good place for the Hornets to begin their coaching search and, maybe, the best place to end. Like any other coaching search, this one doesn't have to be a drawn-out process. Five or six candidates don't have to be interviewed, allowing precious time to be wasted while teams who really mean business are aggressively moving ahead. All that must be done is for the right coach to be identified as quickly as possible. And if the right one is the first or second one, so be it. So if Scott, who was fired by the New Jersey Nets at midseason, is the coach Hornets majority owner George Shinn wants, and Scott is more interested in this job than in sitting around and waiting to see if Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers part ways, then Shinn should get him. If money isn't going to be an issue, Shinn should open his wallet and pay Scott the going rate of $4 million to $5 million per year or more, if that's what it takes, and let him get to work learning the players and establishing himself as an authority figure. Because Scott has the kind of credentials Shinn is looking for and, hopefully, Hornets players will respect. Scott has had success as an NBA coach (appearances in the NBA Finals with the Nets in 2002 and '03) and as an NBA player (three titles with the Lakers and 183 playoff games, fifth-most in NBA history). Players should think twice before tuning him out, knowing he has been where they want to go. He has experienced many of the same aches, and when he says something has worked, he knows from personal experience. Granted, next season and the immediate future will be anything but a stroll, regardless of who is hired as coach and general manager. It's possible, and maybe likely, that the Hornets could be better next season and have a worse record than this year's 41-41. The passion, cohesion, direction, respect, execution and effort could improve, and the move to the Western Conference could cancel all of it because precious few "off" nights can be tolerated in the West. But improvement in the aforementioned areas is what the Hornets need and, perhaps, is what Scott or someone like him will inspire. The 2004-05 Hornets need to play harder, for longer periods of time, and better against a higher level of competition. Almost as much, they need a coach who can challenge them to do so and be taken seriously when he does. Scott isn't the only candidate who can do that. Others, like television commentator Mike Fratello and Nets assistant Brian Hill, who also might be interviewed for the job, could command respect. But if former Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich isn't interested for medical or personal reasons -- Tomjanovich took off this season to recover from bladder cancer and is said to be a year away from a possible return -- Scott bubbles to the top of the list. Sure, there's concern over what happened with Scott in New Jersey. The two sides of the story seem to be that Scott wasn't the workaholic or strategist players wanted him to be or star guard Jason Kidd soured on Scott and triggered a revolt that cost Scott his job, an accusation that has been leveled at Kidd in other stops, dating to college. Shinn said he talked to Nets general manager Rod Thorn, who fired Scott, and the conversation didn't lead him to think less of Scott. Better, he might talk to his veteran players to gauge what they know and proceed accordingly. Players are likely to have heard the real deal and might be more willing to share the details more than a general manager who's reluctant to toss stones. Whoever is targeted, the Hornets can and should make this a quick courtship. Make an offer he can't refuse, because Shinn has tried to do it on the cheap before -- the $4 million benchmark is close to the combined yearly salaries of the past two Hornets coaches, Paul Silas and Tim Floyd -- and that way hasn't worked. Begin with Scott, and if he's the guy, end there. . . . . . . . John DeShazier can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3410. --

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