Hes talking about it at least. Hmmmm, could this be a sign? Heck if I know, but I figured you guys could argue the point for a while.

http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1148796433199590.xml

Scott almost home free in N.O.

Sunday, May 28, 2006
It's the offseason, but Hornets coach Byron Scott is keeping a busy schedule. He has a number of draft prospects to put through a workout before the June 28 draft, and plans must be made soon regarding the players they are most likely to pursue during the free-agency period, which begins July 1.

Despite the workload, there is some personal business. One matter involves his Chateau Estates home in Kenner. Scott said last week he contacted a local realtor and is considering selling his home.

Except for a brief visit when the Hornets played in Baton Rouge for a December game and when they returned to New Orleans to play three games in March, Scott has not spent much time at his home since Katrina.

Scott said he relies on a friend, who stays in the New Orleans area, to keep an eye on it while he's in Oklahoma City, the Hornets' base of operation since Katrina. Scott has a home in Oklahoma City and in Los Angeles, and despite making a little more than $3 million a year, he's feeling the brunt of owning three homes. But Scott said his Kenner home did not incur any damage from Katrina.

"I'm trying to get a good feel on what my house would go for, and we're gathering all that information," Scott said. "Right now, I'm just talking to a realtor."

Like Scott, several Hornets employees are in limbo in regards to their New Orleans-area homes while the team remains in Oklahoma City for the second consecutive season.

Last season, most of the Hornets' employees, excluding players and coaches, did not have to pay for rental properties in Oklahoma because it was included in the deal the team received from Oklahoma City. But housing assistance will not be included this season.

The Hornets are expected to return full time to New Orleans for the 2007-08 season.

"A majority of our staff have housing obligations in that we were owning a home, leasing or paying taxes back in Louisiana and we're sort of stuck," said Michael Thompson, the Hornets' director of corporate communications, who lost his home in Lakeview because of flooding caused by the failure of the 17th Street Canal.

"Do we sell in Louisiana or buy something in Oklahoma, knowing that it will be more likely than not short term. It's a tough situation and a situation that I'm in right now. I haven't sold it, but I can't live in it and even if I could live in it, I'm living in Oklahoma right now."

Hornets owner George Shinn owns a home in Oklahoma City and has a condominium and a home in New Orleans, which he said is occupied by one of his sons.

The Hornets have about eight employees working in New Orleans now to help with summer ticket sales for the six games set for the New Orleans Arena next season. The Hornets will play 35 games at the Ford Center. Scott is aware about the team's expected return to New Orleans after next season.

"We're going to take a look at other houses in that (Kenner) area and if it's a number that I like, me and my wife (Anita) will talk about it," Scott said.


EXTENSION UPDATE: Scott's contract expires at the end of next season and there appears to be no rush for serious negotiations to begin.

"There hasn't been any talks," Scott said. "The one thing that I'm doing right now is really concentrating on this draft. So when we start talking about it (extension), it would be great and if it don't happen until the draft is over that's fine, too. I'm not worried about it."

Shinn said he plans to offer Scott an extension, and he said earlier this month that preliminary discussions had started. But Shinn prefers that negotiations involve only himself and Scott. It was Scott's business manager, Brian McInerney, who helped negotiate Scott's original three-year, $10 million deal.