The bookmaker is taking notice of the Cleveland Cavaliers as they are expected to hire Byron Scott as their new head coach. The move to hire Scott could be critical for Cleveland as he is a favorite of star player LeBron James. The free agency period has begun and James is the biggest name who could impact odds at the online bookmaker.
Bookmaker odds on the Cavaliers will either be similar to what they were last year if James returns or substantially different if he leaves. Now that the Cavaliers have hired Scott as head coach, it appears that James is leaning towards re-signing with the Cavaliers.
Byron Scott is a well respected coach in the NBA. He led the New Jersey Nets to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. He was with New Orleans from 2004 to 2010 and was named Coach of the Year in 2008. Scott will be taking the Cleveland job before James has made his decision whether to re-sign with the team. Scott will immediately inherit a team that can win vs. the bookmaker odds next season if James comes back but if not, he would be stuck with a rebuilding job. James has said that he wants to play for a former player and Scott has a superb resume. Scott played 14 years in the NBA and won three championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Scott is a coach who can handle superstar players. He worked with Jason Kidd while he was in New Jersey and he was very close to Chris Paul while in New Orleans. Those at the bookmaker understand that Scott is replacing Mike Brown who was fired in May after spending five seasons with the Cavaliers.
Scott was not a slam dunk to get the Cleveland coaching job. Los Angeles Lakers assistant Brian Shaw was right with Scott for the job and it was thought he might actually be ahead of Scott. The Cavaliers never offered the job to Shaw though and ended up going with Scott. Shaw could be in the mix for the Lakers job if Phil Jackson retires. Speculation at the online bookmaker has Jackson returning though to go for another title. Jackson is expected to announce his decision on Friday.