The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER spending the past 15 years, the last two with the Cleveland Cavaliers, as a coach in the National Basketball Association, Byron Scott said he thinks it’s time for him to take some time off to spend with his family and friends.

Scott, who played in the NBA from 1983 to 1998, said for the first time in 31 years, he’s going to enjoy life outside of basketball.

“I probably will go back to ESPN and work with them and spend some time with my family,” said Scott, who is in town lending his support to Jeff Rodgers at his basketball camp at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. “I’ve been going and going for a long time. Every now and again you need a break and right now in my career, I need a break.”

Replaced by Mike Brown as the new head coach, Scott left Cleveland when they made some interesting off season moves by acquiring the services of all-time center Andrew Bynum along with draft picks Anthony Bennett and Sergey Karasev with the first and 19th pick overall in the 2013 NBA Draft in June.

“It’s a little back in the day. I’m from the old school where players were more loyal to their teams,” Scott said. “Guys are now jumping from team to team trying to get the most money possible. I understand. Everybody wants to get paid. But I think a lot of our guys are doing what they have to do.

“Generally, the NBA is flourishing. The game is at one of the highest levels that it’s been for a long time. Miami Heat winning the title this year has put a lot of pressure on a lot of the teams. They’re going to be tough to beat again this year. But I think the NBA right now has a lot of good teams coming up. They are going to be challenging to watch in both the east and the west divisions.”

Scott, who played a decade with the ‘Showtime’ Los Angeles Lakers from 1983-1993 before went to the Indiana Pacers (1993-1995) and the Vancouver Grizzlies (1995-1996) before he returned to the Lakers (1996-1997) and then ended up completing his career in Greece with Panathinaiks Basketball Club (1997-1998), said he’s looking forward to the resurgence his Lakers are going through.

“A lot of it will depend on whether or not Kobe (Bryant) is healthy at the start of the season,” Scott said. “If Kobe is healthy, he’s going to drive those guys. He’s not yet to be in a rebuilding mode. He still wants to win another championship. So you have Kobe and you have Pau Gasol and they have reacquired Jordan Farmer, so I think they will be real good. But I don’t see them being one of the top five teams in the NBA.”

From his vantage point, Scott said if Derrick Rose is back healthy, the Chicago Bulls could be the team to watch this year. He noted that Indiana Pacers came into their own last year and they should be a contender in the east.

In the west, he noted that Dwight Howard’s departure from the Lakers to the Houston Rockets puts them as a legitimate contender in the west, along with the Oklahoma City Thunder with the return of Russell Westbrook.

When asked his early prediction on the outcome of the season, Scott said he’s putting his money on the Heat three-peating as champions. If all goes through to form, Scott said he anticipates that they will end up playing against the Thunder.

For Scott, there’s no telling if he doesn’t get a call to return to the sidelines to coach another team during the season.

For now, he’s just enjoying himself here in Nassau, gambling in the casino, hanging out at the beach and playing some golf. For those who didn’t know, Scott said he had his best round in 20 years of 71 at the Ocean Club and he will try to lower that with his handicap of four. “I’m good man,” he said.