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Nets: Byron Scott takes shots at KD and Kyrie over Steve Nash hire

By Adam Weinrib

Richard Jefferson #24 of the New Jersey Nets listens to head coach Byron Scott during play against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2003 NBA Playoffs at Bradley Center on April 26, 2003 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bucks won in overtime 119-114. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Richard Jefferson #24 of the New Jersey Nets listens to head coach Byron Scott during play against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2003 NBA Playoffs at Bradley Center on April 26, 2003 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bucks won in overtime 119-114. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Count former Nets head coach Byron Scott among those who are disappointed that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving didn’t fight against Steve Nash.

Byron Scott watched his NBA coaching career lose its luster after he led the Nets to back-to-back Finals appearances in the early 2000s.

From that point on, when he was unceremoniously replaced by Lawrence Frank, Scott watched the quality of his opportunities diminish. He was thrown into the fire in New Orleans, piloting Chris Paul’s upstart team to the conference semis in ’08. After that opportunity vanished? The moribund post-LeBron Cavs, and the late-period, Kobe-driven Lakers. He was dismissed for the final time after the 2015-16 season.

After his latest comments, it’s clear Scott believes that African-American coaches are rarely afforded the opportunity to coach teams that are already replete with stars, and are often relegated to irrelevant rosters or rebuilding projects.

He’s also clearly disappointed in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant for not sticking up for minority candidates in the recent Nets coaching search, allowing Steve Nash to slide in unabated to the top gig in the East.

As Scott put it:

"“We don’t get jobs that are that set and that good — where you got 2 stars like Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. We don’t get those jobs where there is built-in superstardom guys on that roster right away. We get the kind of jobs where you have to make something out of nothing and when you don’t or you’re not able to do it, they’ll say, ‘Well, we gave him the opportunity.'”"

After musing about why an experienced hire like Mark Jackson wasn’t elevated above Nash in Brooklyn’s recent search, Scott put the onus once again on the NBA’s stars, like Durant and Irving, to wield their power and influence in a different manner.

“Our players don’t do a good enough job for advocating for Black coaches and that’s just something that we need to change as well,” Scott said, point blank.

Scott’s thoughts echo the position put forth by many analysts in recent days, most prominently Stephen A. Smith.

The optics of the Nash search weren’t aided by the fact that the team’s extended negotiations with the Hall of Fame point guard were largely kept secret for months. That gave the appearance of Nash leaping the field out of nowhere instead of dictating the process himself, especially as Jacque Vaughn’s star supposedly rose during Bubble play.

However, while the controversial Jackson isn’t the greatest example of an experienced minority coach not getting a second chance (it’s widely agreed that his rigid methods and strange behavior held back the Warriors dynasty, and is likely closer to Jim Boylen than Scott), the fact remains that the landscape gets bleaker every year.

Brooklyn’s opening might not be the greatest example of the phenomenon, but the point still stands as valid.