Hornets fire Scott; Bower takes over

WESTWEGO, La. (AP) — The New Orleans Hornets fired Byron Scott only nine games into the season on Thursday and replaced him with general manager Jeff Bower, hoping the man who put the current roster together can get more out of it on the court.

“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 at Phoenix dropped New Orleans to 3-6.

Bower, who will remain general manager while in his first head coaching job, immediately moved to name Tim Floyd his top assistant and said other assistants will be retained as well.

Floyd, a former Chicago Bulls and Hornets head coach, most recently coached at Southern California. He led USC to three straight NCAA tournament appearances, then resigned last June amid allegations he paid to have O.J. Mayo play for the Trojans. An NCAA investigation of the matter is ongoing.

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 as head coach, losing in a seven-game series to the Miami Heat and then-rookie Dwyane Wade in the 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.”

Chris Paul, who has not played for any NBA coach but Scott, was not available after players gathered at the club’s suburban training center. Team officials said he had a prior commitment and had to leave. Paul was close with Scott. The pair golfed together and Paul once referred to Scott as a father figure who was closer to him than many of his own relatives.