Byron Scott Became Cavs Head Coach In 2010. Here's How He Found Out About "The Decision"

Over 15 years ago, then-Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James sent shockwaves throughout the NBA world when he announced that he would be “taking his talents” to the Miami Heat. James officially told the basketball world about his “Decision” on national TV, but even before LBJ faced the cameras, a few people already had an idea of what he was up to.

That includes Byron Scott, who had signed on to be the Cavs’ head coach just days before James’ TV event. On a recent episode of his “Fast Break” podcast, Scott recalled a meeting that he had with Cavs GM Chris Grant shortly after he accepted the coaching job in Cleveland.

“The GM said, ‘Oh, he ain’t leaving’...I’m like, really? He’s like ‘Nah, he ain’t got the balls to leave,’” Scott recalled.

Scott, who’d been a coach with three different NBA teams up to that point, decided to use his connections to get the scoop. His source: Chris Paul, the court general that he helped to hone in his stint with the New Orleans Pelicans. Paul also happened to be a close friend of James, and if anyone had intel on the King’s next move, it would be Scott’s former point guard.

Leaving his meeting with Grant, Scott called CP3, who went to work right away. “He called me back within 10 minutes. ‘Oh, he’s gone, coach.’” Scott then went back to Grant to relay this information, though he withheld Paul’s identity. “I just said, I got a pretty good source.”

The two parties involved would then go opposite ways. Teaming with Dwyane Wade and his fellow Miami newcomer Chris Bosh, James went on four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals with his formidable Heat squad, winning two championships in this span. Meanwhile, the Cavs finished with a below-.500 record in each of their three seasons under Scott’s tutelage. The team badly suffered in James’ departure, and try as he might, Scott could not reverse the trajectory.

Ironically, the next time that the Cavs pulled off a winning season was when James came home to Cleveland for the 2014-15 campaign. By then, both Scott and Grant were no longer with the team. Clearly, Grant’s assumption that LBJ would not have “the balls to leave” had gone up in smoke. Not once, but twice.