When the Cavaliers took the floor for the first time on Tuesday night in the post-LeBron era
, Byron Scott was the Head Coach on the sidelines.
However, Byron Scott may have not been the only alumni from the once classic Lakers-Celtics rivalry in the 1980's. The Cavaliers are also believed that they reached out to Larry Bird, the Pacers team president and still to this day a legend.
It is confirmed by sources close to the situation that the Cavaliers did indeed contact Bird, before naming Scott the new coach on July 2nd. Larry Bird did take the phone call, but it is believed that the call was quick and got no where.
Bird let Cleveland know that he wishes to remain in the front-offices with the Pacers and has all but ruled out coaching again because of health and family reasons. Larry Bird was a successful coach from 1997-98 to 1999-2000, posting a 147-67 record and lots of respect from players around the league.
However much the player respected Bird around the league, Byron Scott was named head coach. He got strong recommendations from Chris Paul and Jason Kidd. Winning three rings as a player Scott knows how to win it all. He also took the New Jersey Nets to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 as a coach and won coach of the year honors with New Orleans in 2008.
John Wall is coming in town on Thursday and I will be watching him in person as the Cavaliers take on the Washington Wizards. Should be interesting, let's go Cavs!