National Basketball Association

Hornets fire coach Byron Scott, GM to take over

Published Nov. 13, 2009 12:46 a.m. ET

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"I told Jeff, 'The genie's out of the bottle,"' Hornets chief operating officer Hugh Weber said. "Nobody can say he doesn't have the right players. ... Jeff has hand-selected this team, and we like the idea that now he'll be held accountable for the results.

"Our expectations are high. Our sense of urgency is high. Our patience is low and we hope that translates into results quickly."

Scott, who only two seasons ago was the NBA coach of the year, was fired one day after a 124-104 loss to Phoenix dropped New Orleans' record to 3-6.

Bower, who also will remain general manager, immediately moved to name Tim Floyd his top assistant. Floyd, a former Hornets head coach, had more recently coached at the University of Southern California. He resigned last June amid allegations he paid to have O.J. Mayo play for USC.

Bower was Floyd's assistant coach with the Hornets during the 2003-04 season, and the two are still friends.

"I have a high comfort level with Tim, who has proven himself to be a quality coach, who has proven himself to have some very specific areas that he's outstanding in," Bower said.

The Hornets were 41-41 in Floyd's only season, losing to the Miami Heat inthe first round of the playoffs.

The only player left on the Hornets roster from that season is David West, a rookie back then who has since become an All-Star. West said he respected Scott but understood the rationale behind making a change.

"The good thing is we're 3-6, so getting back to .500 and getting going in the right direction isn't something that's out of the realm of possibility," West said. "With Jeff coming in, bringing in Tim, for guys who've only played for coach Scott, it will be a dramatic difference.

"We've got to be receptive to what this brings because what we had wasn't working," West said. "Hopefully we can get some different results."

Scott was in the final year of a two-year extension worth about $5 million a year. The Hornets hired him hoping he could repeat what he did in New Jersey, when he twice took the Nets to the NBA finals. He wound up 203-216 in a little more than five seasons with the Hornets.