Report: Byron Scott In Negotiations To Coach Cleveland Cavaliers

After a long, weird saga that included Tom Izzo and a late push by Lakers assistant Brian Shaw, it appears the Cavaliers have decided on Byron Scott to be their next head coach.

Via Chris Broussard:

McInerney went on to say he was in touch with Cavs general manager Chris Grant today trying to to re-open negotiations, but that Scott has been unavailable in Arkansas all day. McInerney mentioned that he has been trying to reach him unsuccessfully all day.

The Cleveland Cavaliers Coaching Carousel is spinning to a halt, for real this time, via ESPN’s Chris Broussard:

After being rebuffed in their high-profile, public courtship of Tom Izzo, the Cavs appear close to announcing Lakers assistant Brian Shaw as their next head coach...again. According to reports from both Sam Amick of Fanhouse and the Los Angeles Times, Shaw is nearing terms with the Cavs to fill their coaching vacancy, with Shaw’s agent texting that his client was “close to accepting a deal”. Indeed, Yahoo!‘s Adrian Wojnarowski further reports that Shaw spent most of Tuesday afternoon beginning to put his coaching staff in place in Cleveland.

Granted nothing is official yet regarding Shaw (and likely won’t be for at least another day, per Brian Windhorst), but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the Lakers assistant will be the choice in Cleveland. And after having apprenticed with Phil Jackson the past five seasons as an assistant, Shaw is a very solid, up-and-coming choice for the Cavs...and yet, bringing him in would seem to indicate the Cavs are preparing for life after LeBron. As my colleague Andrew Sharp pointed out when the Shaw rumors first surfaced:

Obviously, the reports emerging from Cleveland are drastically different, but that’s probably because of the implications a Shaw hiring would have on the rest of the franchise. In any case, the next few days should tell the rest of this story, so stay tuned.

According to Sam Amick of AOL Fanhouse, the deal’s not done, but it’s close. Brian Shaw will be named the next coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, possibly as early as Wednesday. From Fanhouse:

Shaw’s credentials as an assistant are pretty impressive, as he’s been reared under Phil Jackson in Los Angeles, and helped the Lakers win two straight championships. As a coaching hire, Shaw grades out fairly well. But you can’t help but wonder, with LeBron James on the brink of free agency, if this isn’t a sign that Cavs have conceded he’ll go elsewhere.

Well, after the initial reports of Kelvin Sampson-to-the-Cavs surfaced a few weeks ago, the Cavaliers coaching search had taken on much greater proportions as owner Dan Gilbert dangled a lifetime’s fortune in front Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. Now that Izzo’s declined the offer, however, the Cavaliers go back to square one. Hey there, Kelvin Sampson!

According to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, it’s time to take Sampson seriously:

Any time a high-profile coach is torn between two teams, one fan base is going to end up disappointed. In this case it was the Cavs. Cue the euphoria from our Spartans faithful at The Only Colors:

As for Cleveland, the fans at Fear The Sword explain that Izzo’s decision was all about one thing: where LeBron goes in free agency this summer (but really, what isn’t?):

Coaches are perhaps the most proficient sorts of people at speaking out of three sides of their mouths simultaneously, but Tom Izzo left no room for speculation Tuesday night as he shot down reports he might leave the Spartans for the Cleveland Cavaliers:

It’s been an agonizing week as I tried to make a decision about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I apologize for the time the process has taken, but sometimes there are opportunities that come about that must be thoroughly examined. I’m no different than any other successful coach in that I’ve had multiple inquiries before, but this one was uniquely intriguing. There was a lot of information to gather and consider and some of it wasn’t easily obtainable. But when making a life decision, I owed it to myself and my family to do my due diligence. From that I never wavered. And I’m pleased to say I am here for life at Michigan State.

Well, that’s direct. And a warm welcome back to our favorite John Calipari jokes! We’ve missed you dreadfully.

It appears that the Tom Izzo melodrama is drawing to a close. According to a report from WDIV-TV in Detroit, Izzo has scheduled a press conference Tuesday night at 8PM ET to announce that he will remain at Michigan State, and turn down the overtures from the Cavs to become their next head coach. Cavs beat man Brian Windhorst corroborates this account, confirming that the Cavs are continuing their coaching search, indicating that Izzo’s announcement will be that he is passing on the job.

The news that Izzo will resist the reported riches the Cavs were apparently willing to offer him comes as something of a surprise given his own rather open flirtations with the team, and the seeming signals that he was on the verge of leaving Michigan State. Indeed, after visiting the Cavs’ facilities last week, stories from “confidants” close to Izzo kept insisting that he was “leaning towards“ leaving, in part because he was ”sick of recruiting” in college. Izzo’s own refusal to quell these rumors the past few days only fueled the speculation that it was but a matter of time until he left for Cleveland. This scuttlebutt continued up till even a few hours ago, with reports surfacing that Izzo was taking his time deliberating because he wasn’t sure if this would be his last opportunity to possibly make the jump to the NBA.

Despite flirting with other candidates, it seems Tom Izzo remains at the center of the Cleveland Cavaliers coaching search. Today, the spotlight continued to shine on Izzo.

From the Detroit Free-Press:

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ two pressing priorities are to keep LeBron James in their jersey and to find a new head coach. An update from SB Nation’s brand-spankin’-new Detroit hub demonstrates that the two are interlocked.

From Detroit News:

As of late Friday morning, Tom Izzo has still not made a decision about whether he will leave Michigan State to coach the Cavs, according to the AP.

Izzo texted the AP Friday morning about his non-decision, a day after touring the Cavs’ facilities and visiting with the team’s front office staff. Izzo returned back to campus at East Lansing late Thursday night. That Izzo is still undecided is something of a surprise given the seeming momentum that pointed towards him leaving for the pros the past few days. Still, despite being reportedly “sick of recruting”, leaving Michigan State, where Izzo is on the Coach K-track to be an all-time great associated with a single program, is an enormous risk for Izzo -- especially given the uncertainty over whether LeBron will return to Cleveland.

Rumors continue to point towards Tom Izzo leaving Michigan State to coach the Cavs, but the team interviewed someone else for coaching vacancy on Thursday: Byron Scott.

The former Nets and Hornets coach had been mentioned as a late contender for the job, reportedly on par with Izzo, earlier on Thursday, and an interview was expected to happen before the end of the weekend. Those plans were apparently accelerated, however, as Scott’s agent told Sam Amick of FanHouse that Scott had an hour-long phone interview with Cavs GM Chris Grant on Thursday.

The signs that Tom Izzo is on the verge of leaving Michigan State to coach the Cavs (and hopefully LeBron) continue to pile up. Indeed, according to Yahoo!‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, Izzo has told close friends that a major reason he’s considering leaving the college game is because he’s “sick of recruiting.”

If that sounds like a man who’s getting ready to get the hell out of dodge, that’s because it is. Confidants don’t leak those kind of quotes unless you’re already all but gone. It’s something you say to preemptively silence any detractors, because it’s such a believable reason to leave for the pros.

According to ESPN’s Andy Katz, Tom Izzo might be more likely than not to take the Cavs head coaching gig, assuming the team offers him the job. This is a third-hand account (Katz’s source is someone who knows someone who’s a “close confidant of Izzo”), so take it with a massive grain of salt, but still...Izzo is touring the Cav’s facilities today. Plenty of smoke here. From ESPN:

Of course, Cavs beat man Brian Windhorst counters that despite all the rumors of Izzo’s imminent departure, the coach’s close friends still expect him to remain at Michigan State.

According to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, while nothing’s been agreed upon, Tom Izzo is inching closer and closer to becoming the next coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. On Thursday, according to the Plain-Dealer, Izzo will visit Cleveland to meet with the team and tour facilities:

It’s still early and much of this news is shrouded in speculation, but where there’s smoke... There’s usually a coach willing to leave his college program for insane amounts of money. Just sayin’...

Tom Izzo told his Michigan State players he was leaving for Cleveland. Then Izzo said that report was “absolutely untrue.” While the Tom Izzo to Cleveland rumors continue to swirl, it’s wise to take a brief moment and see where it all stands. As it is right now, we know that Izzo did indeed meet with his players at Michigan State on Tuesday.

And now, thanks to the AP’s Larry Lige, we know that Izzo has at least told his players that he had a meeting with Cleveland.

While details of the meeting are still unclear, the Lansing State Journal confirms that a meeting between Izzo and his Michigan State players did, in fact, take place on Tuesday:

It certainly helps corroborate the earlier reports that Izzo told his players he’d be leaving, but then, you’d have to think Izzo would relay the news to MSU athletic director, as well. Or, if not Izzo, you’d think that word of the coach’s decision would reach the athletic director before it reached a blog. And, frankly, Hollis genuinely sounds like he’s unsure of what his head basketball coach may do. So... Stay tuned.

According to popular (and reliable) Cleveland sports website Waiting For Next Year, Tom Izzo has told Michigan State players that he will be leaving to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers next year. He is reportedly waiting until the end of the week to make an official announcement, but multiple players have confirmed that Izzo has already relayed the news. He plans to leave East Lansing, Michigan and join the Cavaliers, with their owner, Michigan State alumnus Dan Gilbert, footing what’s certain to be a significant bill for his services.

We’ll have much more as news emerges, but for now, it looks like Gilbert has landed his man, and LeBron James or no LeBron James, Tom Izzo will be the next coach of the Cavaliers.

On the heels of this morning’s report that the Cleveland Cavaliers may have offered Tom Izzo a head coaching job, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer’s Brian Windhorst checks in to clear the air with some definitive reporting. The Cavs haven’t offered Izzo yet, but when they do, they will NOT be messing around. Big numbers, here:

After reportedly flirting with Bucks assistant and former college coach Kelvin Sampson, the Cleveland Cavaliers have entered another echelon of coaching excellence. Tom Izzo, arguably one of the top five coaches in college basketball—and head coach of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s alma mater, Michigan State—has been offered the Cavs’ head coaching job, according to a report out of Ohio:

Of course, there have been the requisite denials since this news broke last night. As Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reports via Twitter:

According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cleveland Cavaliers have turned their coaching search to Milwaukee Bucks assistant Kelvin Sampson, formerly of Indiana and Oklahoma basketball. From Woj: