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NBA fines Cavs coach Byron Scott $25K for criticizing refs after Timberwolves game on Friday (per NBA). Twitter

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott, Coaching 

KC Johnson: All-timer: Reporter's cell phone rang during Byron Scott's availability. Scott answered it, had long, jovial chat with caller. Twitter @KCJHoop

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott, Coaching 

BScott's initial reaction to Spurs' $250,000 fine: "Wow." It would appear NBA Commissioner David Stern is headed down a slippery slope with his $250,000 fine of the Spurs for sending home a number of their best players prior to Thursday's game against the Miami Heat. But Cavs coach Byron Scott doesn't think it will impact the way teams handle their lineups. "I don’t know if it’s going to get to that point where you say, 'We have to check with the league,'" he said. "I think most coaches are going to do what they feel is best for their players and their team." Sulia

Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, Byron Scott, Coaching, Gregg Popovich 

Byron Scott has a sense of humor His opening comment: "Well tonight Andy Varejao was again fantastic and everybody else didn’t suck." Sulia

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott, Anderson Varejao 

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said newly signed power forward Kevin Jones likely will not join the team this weekend but will remain with the team's NBA D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, for the short term. The coach doesn't think he'll stay in Canton long. "I don't know at all as far as when we expect to see him,'' Scott said as the Cavs prepared for tonight's game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. "If I had to guess, I think we'll see him pretty soon. He'll be up here and start practicing with us. "As you guys know, in training camp we really liked Kevin, thought he could be a pretty good NBA player. That's why we wanted to keep him around, get him into Canton, see how he'd played. Obviously, he played very well. "I don't know what type of NBA player he's going to be, but it's going to be interesting to find out.'' Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott, D-League, Kevin Jones 

According to the website 82games.com, Thompson's shot is blocked 22 percent of the time when he throws the ball at the rim. Further, Thompson's attempts when "close" to the basket -- in essence, not a dunk but not a jumper -- is a staggering 37 percent. By comparison, Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao is blocked 4 percent of the time, overall, and 10 percent when he attempts a "close" shot. Enter the solution: Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Byron Scott brought in the former Cavaliers big man and current assistant to the general manager Thursday to teach Thompson a thing or two about how to avoid being blocked. Ilgauskas was strolling the Cavaliers practice facility in street clothes Thursday. The main thing Thompson needs to work on, Scott said, is making quicker decisions -- and moves. Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Tristan Thompson 

"A lot of times [when] he gets it, he puts it on the floor and he's trying to gather," Scott said. "By the time you do all that, you've got two bigs or three guys surrounding you, and they're just trying to push him under the basket even farther. Now he's going up, and most of the time, it's against somebody who is 6-11 or 7 foot, so he's at a disadvantage." The 6-9 Thompson might be smaller than the 7-3 Ilgauskas, but the Lithuanian still has some tricks to teach. In Ilgauskas' final season in the NBA, with Miami, he was blocked 4 percent of the time and 15 percent of his "close" shots. " 'Z' has shown him some things I think can be really good for him. It's just a matter of him implementing it to be a little more effective," Scott said. "I think he has that in him. It's just a matter of continuing to do it." Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Tristan Thompson 

Sam Amico: Cavs coach Byron Scott on Anderson Varejao: "He's the best center in the NBA right now. By far the best in the Eastern Conference." Twitter @SamAmicoFSO

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott, Anderson Varejao 

Cavs coach Byron Scott on potentially signing a free agent to help bench: "I think if I said I had the right pieces I'd be lying, from the bench's standpoint. "If there's a guy out there that we feel can help us, should we go after him? Yes. I'm not going to sit here and say I'm satisfied with the way our bench has played, because I'm not. "If there's a guy who we feel can come in here and help us, yeah, we definitely should pursue that guy. Because the bottom line for me is to continue to improve, and winning. I want to win." Sulia

Cleveland Cavaliers, Free Agency, Byron Scott 

Coaching the Lakers might be his dream job, but Scott has a lot of unfinished business with the Cavs. He's not going anywhere, especially after the Cavs recently picked up the option on his contract for next year. That was a big boost to his confidence. "I didn't know it was coming when it did," Scott said. "It was a little bit of surprise, but (I was) very happy. I think I let you guys know how much I enjoy this organization and the direction we're headed. We have an unbelievable owner in Dan Gilbert, who I have a great relationship with, and a great general manager. We're on the same page as far as how this thing needs to develop. Like I've stated before, I'm extremely happy here in Cleveland." News-Herald

Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, Byron Scott, Coaching, Dan Gilbert 

Scott, 51, said he feels he has the support of ownership and the front office. "It's very important," he said. "I've been through the other end of it, too. It's a blessing to be in a situation like this where you have the backing of your owner and general manager. The way I see things playing out, they see it the same way." News-Herald

Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, Byron Scott, Coaching, Dan Gilbert 

Don't talk to Cavaliers coach Byron Scott about new-age statistics. Many NBA teams are sinking millions of dollars into statistical analysis, which break down the game in many ways. Scott doesn't always adhere to those principles. "I'm still so old school," he said. "I don't put a whole lot of stock into it. I know we've got a couple guys who are numbers guys. And I'll look at it, but for the most part, I'll look at it and say, ‘OK, yeah, all right. Sounds good, looks good.' "I really like what I see on the basketball court. I like to see it with my own eyes rather than go by what this guy does statistically." News-Herald

Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, Byron Scott, Coaching, Dan Gilbert 

Chris Paul asked Byron Scott to stop using Alonzo Gee on him defensively. Scott made that shocking revelation today after practice. He has been calling Gee one of the league's best defenders for a few days and is trying to prove it by using him to defend multiple positions. Apparently at some point during Monday's Cavs win over the Clippers, Paul jogged by Scott and told him "take him off me" and wanted Kyrie Irving to defend him instead. "Why you got him guarding me? Let the young fella guard me," Paul told Scott. "I said, 'Young fella has guarded you. He said, 'Well you threw me in the fire, made me guard all those guys.'" Sulia

Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Chris Paul, Byron Scott, Alonzo Gee, Kyrie Irving 

Mary Schmitt Boyer/Jodie Valade: #Cavs coach BScott will not be fined by NBA for comments about clock at Milwaukee, league spokesman says. Spokesman says no issue with clk Twitter @PDcavsinsider

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott 

The Cavaliers signed Youngstown native and former Cleveland State guard D'Aundray Brown to a contract on Thursday. Terms of the contract were not announced. "You guys know D'Aundray," Cavs coach Byron Scott said. "We've had him in our gym a bunch of times. We love the way he plays. He plays hard, good defensive player. And obviously, if he's not here with us, we probably have the opportunity to put him on our Canton D-League team and watch him grow. Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott, Coaching 

Scott said he was a bit surprised, and very happy, that the Cavs picked up the fourth year of his contract. "I think I let you guys know how much I enjoy this organization and the direction we're headed," Scott told reporters on Thursday. "We have an unbelievable owner in Dan Gilbert, who I have a great relationship with, a great general manager, and we're on the same page as far as how this thing needs to develop. Like I've stated before, I'm extremely happy here in Cleveland." Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott, Coaching 

Scott said being on the same page as Gilbert and general manager Chris Grant is key. "It's very important," Scott said. "I've been through the other end of it, too. It's a blessing to be in a situation like this where you have the backing of your owner and general manager. Even the way I see things playing out, they see it the same way." Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott, Coaching 

Tom Withers: AP source confirms #Cavaliers have exercised option on coach Byron Scott for next season as earlier reported by @Jason Lloyd Twitter @twithersAP

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott 

The Cavaliers have exercised the option on coach Byron Scott's contract for the 2013-14 season, an NBA source told The Plain Dealer on Wednesday. Scott and Cavs officials did not meet with the media to comment on Wednesday. Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott, Coaching 

Cavs coach Byron Scott said there is a leader in the backup point guard spot. Of course, he wouldn't say who it was, but it sounds like it's Donald Sloan. It doesn't appear as if both Sloan and Jeremy Pargo can make the final roster. Sulia

Cleveland Cavaliers, Byron Scott, Donald Sloan, Jeremy Pargo