When Avery Johnson was fired by the Nets on Thursday, the reasoning behind the move was dissected and examined from every angle. Among reasons A, B, C and on through Q, was Deron Williams’ displeasure with the offense.
Byron Scott, former head coach of the Nets, brought his Cavaliers into Barclays Center for an eventual 103-100 loss Saturday night and was asked about the possible role star players have in the firing of coaches. Scott laughed heartily.
“I’m going to leave that alone,” said Scott, whose exit from New Jersey was widely believed to have been greased by Jason Kidd. “I’m not going — because you know I could go there — but I’m not going to go there. I’m going to leave that alone. Next question.”
When reports of Kidd’s unease with Scott came out, there were denials all around. Eventually, Scott was fired when more players turned and, as was heard when Johnson’s sacking was announced, a “new voice” was needed.
So Scott knows exactly what Johnson went — and is going — through. The NBA head coaching community is small, and when one goes, they all feel it. Scott wanted to give Johnson some time to recuperate, but intends to reach out to the man he considers a friend, a man he also got to know well while working with him as a TV analyst.
“A.J. and I are good friends,” Scott said. “I want to give him a few days to kind of exhale and think about what he’s doing. I’m sure he’s just spending time with his family right now.
“When one of us gets let go, we all feel it and we all reach out to that person. I’m sure a lot of coaches have already called or reached out or texted him, and I’m going to try to do the same tomorrow.” Not many coaches in the league have the stability to withstand anything thrown at them, including players’ voices.
“It’s a kind of power,” Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “Pop [Gregg Popovich] has that. Phil [Jackson] had it. There are very few guys in the league that have it.”
Scott’s Cavaliers are struggling again, but he said he is thankful owner Dan Gilbert is a patient man who realized Rome and NBA contenders are not built in a day or even a season. Johnson, the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month in November, may have fallen prey to the expectations of billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov, who shelled out more than one-third of a billion dollars this summer.
“I know here they spent a lot of money in the offseason,” Scott said. “We kept hearing from their owner this is a championship-type team and those expectations are real lofty. Again, I’m not here every day. I got my own problems.”