Tom Izzo vs. Byron Scott: Who do the Cavs(Lebron) choose?

I know a lot of Cavs fans think Lebron should be able to choose who he wants to be his coach but for all we know he’ll end up choosing one of his entourage or getting rid of a coach all together like he did his agent. So I guess that means we have to just pray that Lebron won’t turn his back on a city that loves him and trust the upper management. So that means we are left with Tom Izzo and Byron Scott to lead us to that championship that Cleveland deserves.

Tom Izzo is a career college coach who through the past 15 years has quietly but firmly entrenched the Michigan State Spartans as a perennial contender and a team come the NCAA Tournament nobody wants to face. He has won a national championship, been to six final fours and won six Big Ten Championships. Tom Izzo achieved all this not by always getting the best recruits but by rather installing a system that the players had to buy into and execute. This system is predicated on swarming man to man defense that suffocated the other team and forced turnovers that would lead to early offense. The big question is can Izzo be the first college coach since Larry Brown to be successful in the pros?

Byron Scott on the other hand is a former NBA player who knows the ends and outs of the league not only because he has played in it, but also because he has coached the New Jersey Nets to two NBA finals appearances and then separately the New Orleans Hornets to a Western Conference semi-finals appearance. Yet, here lies the problem with Scott for all of his success why has he been relieved from two positions?

When choosing the next coach of the Cavaliers Dan Gilbert has a thin line to walk on. On the one hand he has to be sure that the candidate does not hurt the teams chances of getting Lebron James yet at the same time the coach must be willing and ready for life without Lebron James.

This is why I believe Izzo is the right person for the job because he has been balancing personalities and teams his whole careers, yes Byron Scott has been in the league but at the end of the day what is the point of taking someone else’s trash and believing that he will reinvent himself into a wonderful coach. Everyday a sportscaster talks about how bad college coaches do in the league and yes, while there are numerous coaches who failed to make the big jump from college Pitino, Montgomery, Floyd, there are even more pro coaches who couldnt make the cut. But, rarely do they talk about the fact that every year 10 coaches get fired and then two years later they are the hot ticket item; Eddie Jordan, Mo Cheeks, PJ Carlesimo and the list goes on. So if you are going to take a gamble, why not gamble with something new instead of somebody who has failed twice before.