<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The ideal candidate to eventually fill the remaining assistant coaching vacancy on Byron Scott's first staff in New Orleans didn't necessarily have to possess recent Western Conference ties -- a familiarity with the Hornets' new, and perceived more challenging home. Could have been anyone, Scott said. It just happened to be Jim Cleamons, a five-year assistant with Phil Jackson's Los Angeles Lakers -- and therefore, a connoisseur of success in the West. Hired Aug. 3, the Hornets formally introduced Cleamons along with fellow assistants Darrell Walker and Kenny Gattison at the Alario Center on Monday, roughly six weeks before the beginning of practice and what should be an inevitable adjustment period, according to the new hire. "There are no off-nights, baby," Cleamons said. "No off-nights. You look at the West and there is no break. Look at Utah last year. People had written them off because (Karl) Malone and (John) Stockton are not there. We -- the Lakers organization -- struggled to beat them and lost to them once -- and all four games were close. "So, you look and wonder where you're going to get those Ws from? They come from knowing how to play teams from your conference and then going to the East and make your hay. You're going to have to learn how to beat teams." And, Cleamons said, the evolution of Western Conference basketball seems to be on the verge of another significant alteration with the trade of Shaquille O'Neal to the Miami Heat.</div> <div align="center">Link</div>
