Hornets introduce new assistants Scott, coaching staff ready to start getting team on same page Tuesday, August 17, 2004 By William Kalec Staff writer It's a convenient coincidence, really. The ideal candidate to eventually fill the remaining assistant coaching vacancy on Byron Scott's first staff in New Orleans didn't necessarily have to possess recent Western Conference ties -- a familiarity with the Hornets' new, and perceived more challenging home. Could have been anyone, Scott said. It just happened to be Jim Cleamons, a five-year assistant with Phil Jackson's Los Angeles Lakers -- and therefore, a connoisseur of success in the West. Hired Aug. 3, the Hornets formally introduced Cleamons along with fellow assistants Darrell Walker and Kenny Gattison at the Alario Center on Monday, roughly six weeks before the beginning of practice and what should be an inevitable adjustment period, according to the new hire. "There are no off-nights, baby," Cleamons said. "No off-nights. You look at the West and there is no break. Look at Utah last year. People had written them off because (Karl) Malone and (John) Stockton are not there. We -- the Lakers organization -- struggled to beat them and lost to them once -- and all four games were close. "So, you look and wonder where you're going to get those Ws from? They come from knowing how to play teams from your conference and then going to the East and make your hay. You're going to have to learn how to beat teams." And, Cleamons said, the evolution of Western Conference basketball seems to be on the verge of another significant alteration with the trade of Shaquille O'Neal to the Miami Heat. When Cleamons was a head coach with the Mavericks in the mid-1990s, quality point guards (Gary Payton with Seattle, Stockton and Jason Kidd with Dallas ) set the offensive trend. By the time Cleamons rejoined Jackson's staff in L.A., after winning three rings with the Chicago Bulls, the focus in the NBA shifted inside. Sparked by good fortune in the lottery, the San Antonio Spurs selected Tim Duncan. Teamed with David Robinson, the attention moved inside for Western Conference members. "That Twin Towers combination made you need that 4 and 5," Cleamons said. "(Jamaal) Magloire and P.J. (Brown) is a great start." Cleamons also suggested O'Neal's departure could put increased importance on athleticism -- a point of emphasis echoed by Hornets brass in pre-draft analysis and addressed with the selection of high schooler J.R. Smith. Cleamons said philosophical differences in coaching -- the Lakers ran a triangle offense compared to Scott's Princeton-style attack -- should be minimized because of the number of similarities between the two systems. Scott, Cleamons, Gattison and Walker met Monday morning to dissect variations of the Princeton offense. "They stress the same basic goals, which is learning how to read the defense and react," Scott said. "If you got five guys out there who understand basketball then it shouldn't be that hard for them. For us as a staff, I think the transition will be simple. It might take a little time to grasp, but with the triangle and Princeton, they intertwine, so Jim should get this quick." Walker, also a former head coach in the NBA, returns to the bench after a three-year stint in the Washington Wizards' front office and scouting department. "That was evident from the beginning with D. He wanted to get back in coaching," Scott said. "I told him I thought that this would be a great situation. "Now, we just all got to get on the same page -- offensively, defensively, out-of-bounds plays, every aspect of basketball -- and we got six weeks to do it. We started (Monday), and we'll do it every single day. That's the beauty of our staff." . . . . . . . William Kalec can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3413. --

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