The Hornets are 3-6 and the decision was made following the team’s 124-104 loss to Phoenix last night. On the current road trip the Hornets have looked bad in losses to the Lakers and Suns, and were blown out against San Antonio in the season opener.
Scott has been replaced by Jeff Bower who also serves as the Hornets General Manger. Former Hornets, and UNO head coach Tim Floyd has also been brought back and will serve as Bower’s top assistant. Floyd was recently let go as USC’s head coach, and coached the Hornets for just one season.
Scott was named NBA Coach of the year in 2008 after The Hornets set a franchise record for wins with 56.
The following season however, Scott had to deal with numerous injuries to starters and the team was quickly dismissed in the first round of the playoffs by Denver. This offseason while other top contenders in the Western Conference solidified their teams, the Hornets made moves that clearly were done to try and get under the NBA’s $69.9 salary cap. The Hornets are just over 3 million with their payroll currently.
Nine games into the season, it’s clear the Hornets are undersized, and struggle against more athletic teams. Defense has been a major concern and Scott claimed it was due to chemistry as the team entered the year with six new players.
During the team’s recent road trip out west, the Hornets were blown out by the Lakers and Suns. In those games it appeared as if the team looked disinterested and showed a lack of effort on the defensive side. One might say that Scott had “lost the locker”, and judging by forward David West’s comments on Thursday, it might have been the case.
” “I think we got to the point to where things we were doing just weren’t effective,” said West who also added that he felt there were “philosophical differences” between Scott and some players on the team. West said at time he felt the team was “stagnant.”
It’s baffeling to see a team that just two seasons ago was playing for the top seed in the Western Conference come apart so quickly. While Scott had his faults, such as failure to communicate with players like forward Brandon Bass and J.R. Smith, both of whom would eventually be traded, and failure to develop young players such as Hilton Armstrong, Julian Wright, and Bass and Smith could be thrown in there, management is also to blame.
The team failed to resign backup point guard Jennero Pargo creating an immediate need to a back up to starter Chris Paul. The team has yet to find one. Management has also made puzzling midseason moves, “band aid” trades such as Bonzie Wells, Mike James, and Antonio Daniels. Then came the attempted trading of center Tyson Chandler to Oklahoma City late last season. The move to put it nicely agitated Paul and West, both openly voicing their displeasure with the move. Chandler would be shipped for good this summer after failing a physical and playing out the remainder of the year with the Hornets. But the damage had been done. The locker room was never the same as there was now distrust from players towards the front office and Scott with the front office as well. Add an offseason that paled in comparison to other teams in the league and you have what you have now, a mess.
Paul was not available for comment Thursday but in an interview on NBA.com, Paul speaks of his growing frustration with the start of this season. When asked about fellow players like Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony Paul responded, “I’m envious. I’m very envious. This is my fifth year in the league and I’m not trying to wait until I’m an old veteran in this league to win a championship. We’re trying to win now. We’re trying to win now. Whatever we have to do, go back to the drawing board, whatever it is we got to figure something out.”
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