Inside the Hornets: Byron Scott Chat, Part I
In Part I of Byron Scott’s season-ending, State of the Hornets interview, the second-year Hornets leader addresses some of the areas where the club needs to make strides in order to improve in 2006-07.
Question: What do you see as the team’s biggest need this offseason?
Answer: I think we’ve got a few of them. We need to add a couple shooters and surround Chris Paul with guys who can flat-out knock down shots from the outside. And we’ve got to get one guy who is a big-time nasty-type player, a physical presence inside. We didn’t solve the problem, but we addressed the problem this season, of getting more athletic. But there aren’t many other teams who have (players who are) 6-foot-5, 6-9 and 6-11 in the starting frontcourt [the heights of Desmond Mason, David West and PJ Brown]. So we need to get more size. We have to be a little bit nastier, a little bit more physical and aggressive. Hopefully there are one or two guys we can find.
Q: The Hornets had trouble defending the lane and the 3-point shot this season. There were several opponents who came in at the end of the season, and whenever they swung the ball it seemed like someone was open. How much of that was lack of nastiness in the middle, so that if you have someone tougher in the middle, you don’t have to cheat on defense to help out so much?
A: The one thing we talked about all season long was protecting the paint. We’re going to give up 3-point shots, hopefully with a hand in (opponents’) faces. But we want to protect the middle as much as possible. We ended up giving up the middle AND 3-point shots. You can’t give up both. When I talk about a big guy who is a little nasty, I’m talking about a big guy who can control that lane and shut down some of those layups and penetration. But we do need a perimeter stopper as well. At the same time, as far as last season, you’re not going to solve all of those needs in one year. We were able to make a big jump this season, but we still have a lot to do. We have some needs we have to address.
Q: When you think of that ‘nastiness’ who do you think about?
A: I think about someone like Kenyon Martin. We had him in New Jersey, and he kind of established us as not being a soft team anymore, a physical, aggressive team. Because he wasn’t allowing people to just get layups. Maybe not (necessarily) an intimidator, but somebody who’s not going to allow (other teams) to do whatever they want and waltz down the lane.
Q: So is it a true post player, or just someone who can bang inside?
A: I’m not even talking about offense right now. We improved offensively last season obviously, but I don’t think we improved as much on the defensive end, even though we had better players and better athletes. That kind of tells you that our guys weren’t grasping what we were trying to teach on the defensive end. I’ve got a way of solving that next year, too. But a big guy is something we need to compete against some of the bigger teams in this league.
Q: So it’s just a presence in the middle you’re seeking?
A: Just a little bit of everything. Shot-blocking, muscle, knocking the crap out of people every now and then [laughs].
Q: Are there a lot of players available who are like that?
A: I don’t know. Jeff Bower and I have to take a look at the list of guys who are available. I’m just putting out what we need to do.
Q: Can those needs be addressed in the draft with two first-round picks?
A: They could. We’ve got options, which is a good thing. We’ve got the picks, some cap room. We’re going to take a look at everything.
Q: How would you rate this year’s free-agent class, based on what you need?
A: It’s fair. It’s not great. It’s not like there are seven or eight guys where you can say, if we get one of them… This is not one of the greatest free-agent markets of recent years. It’s decent.
Q: Is nastiness the No. 1 need, more than shooting? Can you rank your priorities?
A: We need a big guy. You guys know this already: the 6-11, 7-foot guys don’t come a dime a dozen. Shooters, we used to say you could find one on almost every corner – although, that’s not really true anymore – but it’s easier to find a shooter than it is to find a good, solid big guy. So obviously the big guy is the biggest need for us right now.
Q: Have you talked to PJ Brown about next season?
A: No, I haven’t talked to PJ. This season has probably been harder on PJ than any player we have. So right now he’s probably physically and mentally drained. I would just like to wait and see. As the summer goes on, we’ll talk to PJ about that.
Q: Regarding the Steven Hunter trade (that was rescinded). Is he that type of (nasty) player, or not so much?
A: He wasn’t a nasty player, but he was big, athletic, a 7-footer who can really run and jump and block shots. That’s why we were so excited about him. But I still trust our doctors. Obviously if the doctors had felt he was healthy enough to play for us for years and years and years, then that trade would’ve been perfect. Because that was the type of big guy we were looking for.
Question: What do you see as the team’s biggest need this offseason?
Answer: I think we’ve got a few of them. We need to add a couple shooters and surround Chris Paul with guys who can flat-out knock down shots from the outside. And we’ve got to get one guy who is a big-time nasty-type player, a physical presence inside. We didn’t solve the problem, but we addressed the problem this season, of getting more athletic. But there aren’t many other teams who have (players who are) 6-foot-5, 6-9 and 6-11 in the starting frontcourt [the heights of Desmond Mason, David West and PJ Brown]. So we need to get more size. We have to be a little bit nastier, a little bit more physical and aggressive. Hopefully there are one or two guys we can find.
Q: The Hornets had trouble defending the lane and the 3-point shot this season. There were several opponents who came in at the end of the season, and whenever they swung the ball it seemed like someone was open. How much of that was lack of nastiness in the middle, so that if you have someone tougher in the middle, you don’t have to cheat on defense to help out so much?
A: The one thing we talked about all season long was protecting the paint. We’re going to give up 3-point shots, hopefully with a hand in (opponents’) faces. But we want to protect the middle as much as possible. We ended up giving up the middle AND 3-point shots. You can’t give up both. When I talk about a big guy who is a little nasty, I’m talking about a big guy who can control that lane and shut down some of those layups and penetration. But we do need a perimeter stopper as well. At the same time, as far as last season, you’re not going to solve all of those needs in one year. We were able to make a big jump this season, but we still have a lot to do. We have some needs we have to address.
Q: When you think of that ‘nastiness’ who do you think about?
A: I think about someone like Kenyon Martin. We had him in New Jersey, and he kind of established us as not being a soft team anymore, a physical, aggressive team. Because he wasn’t allowing people to just get layups. Maybe not (necessarily) an intimidator, but somebody who’s not going to allow (other teams) to do whatever they want and waltz down the lane.
Q: So is it a true post player, or just someone who can bang inside?
A: I’m not even talking about offense right now. We improved offensively last season obviously, but I don’t think we improved as much on the defensive end, even though we had better players and better athletes. That kind of tells you that our guys weren’t grasping what we were trying to teach on the defensive end. I’ve got a way of solving that next year, too. But a big guy is something we need to compete against some of the bigger teams in this league.
Q: So it’s just a presence in the middle you’re seeking?
A: Just a little bit of everything. Shot-blocking, muscle, knocking the crap out of people every now and then [laughs].
Q: Are there a lot of players available who are like that?
A: I don’t know. Jeff Bower and I have to take a look at the list of guys who are available. I’m just putting out what we need to do.
Q: Can those needs be addressed in the draft with two first-round picks?
A: They could. We’ve got options, which is a good thing. We’ve got the picks, some cap room. We’re going to take a look at everything.
Q: How would you rate this year’s free-agent class, based on what you need?
A: It’s fair. It’s not great. It’s not like there are seven or eight guys where you can say, if we get one of them… This is not one of the greatest free-agent markets of recent years. It’s decent.
Q: Is nastiness the No. 1 need, more than shooting? Can you rank your priorities?
A: We need a big guy. You guys know this already: the 6-11, 7-foot guys don’t come a dime a dozen. Shooters, we used to say you could find one on almost every corner – although, that’s not really true anymore – but it’s easier to find a shooter than it is to find a good, solid big guy. So obviously the big guy is the biggest need for us right now.
Q: Have you talked to PJ Brown about next season?
A: No, I haven’t talked to PJ. This season has probably been harder on PJ than any player we have. So right now he’s probably physically and mentally drained. I would just like to wait and see. As the summer goes on, we’ll talk to PJ about that.
Q: Regarding the Steven Hunter trade (that was rescinded). Is he that type of (nasty) player, or not so much?
A: He wasn’t a nasty player, but he was big, athletic, a 7-footer who can really run and jump and block shots. That’s why we were so excited about him. But I still trust our doctors. Obviously if the doctors had felt he was healthy enough to play for us for years and years and years, then that trade would’ve been perfect. Because that was the type of big guy we were looking for.
