Cavaliers name Scott as new head coach

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former coach of the year Byron Scott was charged with bringing the Cleveland Cavaliers their first NBA title after he was named their new head coach late on Thursday.

The 49-year-old former coach of the New Orleans Hornets and New Jersey Nets replaces Mike Brown, who was fired after the top-seeded Cavaliers were eliminated from the second round of the playoffs.

Scott's appointment followed the opening day of the free-agent signing period, where a number of teams made attempts to lure LeBron James, the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the past two seasons, away from Cleveland.

"Everything about it just felt like a really good fit for both me and the team," Scott said in a statement. "I am anxious to get going and to build on the success the Cavaliers have experienced in recent years."

Scott, who won three NBA titles as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers, coached the Nets to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 and was named coach of the year in 2008 after a season where he led the Hornets to a franchise best 56 wins.

Scott, who will be formally introduced at a press conference in Cleveland at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, has a 352-355 record as a coach. He was fired by New Orleans after opening the 2009-10 season with a 3-6 record.

Scott's .579 playoff winning percentage is fourth among all current NBA head coaches, trailing only Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich and Stan Van Gundy.

(Writing by Julian Linden and Frank Pingue; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)