The Cavs' unsuccessful run at Michigan State's Tom Izzo -- at the behest of Cavs owner and Michigan State alumnus Dan Gilbert -- has been well-chronicled. At the same time, though, they also scoured the coaching map in search of players-turned-coaches of the highest stature to impress LeBron James, hoping that kind of hire could boost their chances of keeping him in free agency.
Sources close to the situation have confirmed that, before naming Scott as their new coach July 2, Cleveland officials thus contacted Bird to see if they could convince the Indiana Pacers' team president to consider returning to coaching.
Bird did take the call, sources said, but quickly informed the Cavs that he had no interest in coaching again. Sources said Bird, 53, let Cleveland know that he wants to continue in his front-office work with the Pacers and that he has all but ruled out coaching again because of health and family reasons.
Yeah, his health reasons included not wanting the heartburn involved with the daily dealing with LeBron, his ego, and his minions.
Larry Bird would probably have gotten into a fistfight with LeBron. Larry doesn't take any crap. LeBron's camp is full of it... and it doles it out in heaping doses. Larry is just the type of person LeBron needs... but not in the permissive, circus atmosphere Dan Gilbert set up in Cleveland.
That would have been an unmitigated disaster. Larry Bird must have known that would have been the case. Good for him for avoiding that mess.
Then again... the Pacers aren't exactly a well-oiled machine. But that's a different story.