| | Associated Press
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Byron Scott, who helped the Los
Angeles Lakers to three NBA championships, was hired as the new
coach of the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday.
|  | | Byron Scott chose the Nets after being courted by the Pacers. |
"Byron possesses all the qualities we are looking for in a head
coach," Nets owner Lewis Katz said. "He has championship
pedigree, and we feel very confident that he will be able to mold
the Nets into a team that will be able to contend successfully with
the elite teams in the NBA."
The announcement of the new coach came one day before the NBA
Draft, where the Nets have the No. 1 pick.
Scott, who played college basketball at Arizona State
University, said he was offered the job on Monday by Nets president
Rod Thorn and jumped on a plane to come to New Jersey.
"I'm just looking forward to coming to New Jersey, having some
fun, and getting this team to the top of the Eastern Conference,"
said Scott, who was an assistant with the Sacramento Kings the past
two years.
Contract terms were not immediately available, but Scott's business manager, Brian
McInerney, said reports of a three-year contract worth $9 million
were in the ballpark.
Scott, who was the shooting guard on NBA championship teams led
by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, has been an assistant
coach the last two seasons with the Sacramento Kings and will now
replace Don Casey, who was fired on April 26. Casey took the head
coaching job when John Calipari was fired in March 1999.
Scott had been a leading candidate for the coaching job with the
Indiana Pacers. But he met last week with new Nets president Rod
Thorn and decided to come to New Jersey.
"I just heard it from someone else less than an hour ago,"
Indiana president Donnie Walsh told The Star-Ledger of Newark for
Tuesday's editions. "And I've had so many calls today, I can't
remember who told me. But Byron hasn't called, nor has his agent."
The Pacers' job was left vacant when Larry Bird followed through
on a three-year pledge and retired following Indiana's six-game
loss to the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Scott, 39, played in the NBA from 1983-97 with the Lakers, the
Pacers and the Vancouver Grizzlies. The former Arizona State guard,
the fourth pick in the 1983 draft, spent two years as an assistant
at Sacramento.
With stars such as Jayson Williams and Kerry Kittles sidelined
with injuries, the Nets stumbled to a 2-15 start last season, then
dropped their last 11 games en route to a 31-51 record.
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Newly hired Nets coach Byron Scott feels he can relate to the players.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Like Doc Rivers, an unproven Byron Scott feels he can achieve success.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Byron Scott discusses his new job as head coach of the Nets with ESPN's Dan Patrick.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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