Cleveland Cavaliers in contract talks with Byron Scott as head coach

Team renews talks with Scott, a two-time Finals coach with the New Jersey Nets.

UPDATED: 11 p.m.
(Note: AP is now reporting Byron Scott has accepted the Cavaliers' job)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The LeBron James' free agency chase, now in full effect, might end up having nothing on the drama of the Cavaliers' coaching search.

As the start of free agency arrived, the Cavs were in talks with Byron Scott to become the next head coach, team sources said. The negotiations were ongoing, but there was no deal yet in place as of late Wednesday night.

Complicating matters was that Scott was with family in Arkansas and unreachable for part of the day, which slowed the process.

After having positive meetings with Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw on Monday and Tuesday, things took a turn. Make that another turn.

The Cavs appeared to be moving in the direction of offering Shaw the job, even to the point where Scott's agent had e-mailed news outlets congratulating Shaw on getting the job. Shaw was also talking to potential assistant coaches.

However, according to sources, the Cavs never formally offered Shaw the job and were still in organizational meetings to make a final decision. After those meetings, the Cavs contacted Scott's representation to open contract talks.

Shaw's agent, Jerome Stanley, told media outlets Wednesday night that Shaw pulled his name from consideration. He said that Shaw was concerned about making a decision on the job before LeBron James decided on re-signing with the team.

But it was Stanley who told several news outlets Tuesday that Shaw was close to accepting the Cavs' job even as the team made it clear that no offer had been formally made. Stanley's premature comments to the media could have caused some tension within the organization.

One of the issues the Cavs had with Shaw was that he had never been a head coach at any level, although they were impressed with his knowledge and confidence. It is believed Shaw had pitched bringing the triangle offense to the Cavs.

If the Cavs can close the deal with Scott, they will be getting one of the candidates they had high on their list when Mike Brown was fired on May 24.

Scott is known for building strong relationships with his star players and having a commanding presence in huddles and on the sideline. He has 10 years of head coaching experience and twice led New Jersey to the NBA Finals. He has a combined record of 352-355 and 33-24 in the postseason with the Nets and Hornets.

Scott has a strong relationship with Hornets' star Chris Paul, who is very close to James. It is unclear whether James will be swayed in his decision if the Cavs can finish off the deal with Scott.

James has purposely stayed out of the coaching search over the last month and declined to speak directly with candidates. Scott told Yahoo Sports earlier this week that he was interested in the Cavs job with or without a commitment from James.

Williams extended offer: Wednesday the Cavs made forward Jawad Williams a qualifying offer of $1.02 million, a step required to make the two-year veteran a restricted free agent. The team had to take the step to have the right to match any offers made to Williams; it is not a guarantee that he will be re-signed. The Cleveland native averaged 4.1 points in 54 games last season.