As expected, Scott Layden is returning to his NBA roots.
The Jazz announced Wednesday that Layden, a former basketball operations vice president who worked 18 years in Utah from 1981 through 1999, is re-joining the team as an assistant coach.
The move comes six years after Layden left the organization to become general manager and eventually president of the New York Knicks — and 18 months after the Knicks fired him in favor of Isiah Thomas.
"I thought he was the right guy, because he could help all of us," said Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan, who initiated the hire and calls himself "delighted" that Layden accepted the offer.
Layden, 46, replaces longtime No. 2 assistant Gordie Chiesa, who left Utah last month to become the No. 1 assistant in New Jersey.
His duties include both on-court work with players and breakdown of videotape to prepare for opponents — much like Chiesa did during his 16 seasons with the Jazz.
But that may not be all.
"From a selfish point of view, he has dealt with a lot of trades and (salary) cap issues," said Jazz basketball operations senior vice president Kevin O'Connor, who succeeded Layden in '99. "He's an assistant coach who knows that side of it, too."
O'Connor suggested he is hardly worried about having to look over his shoulder at Layden, who started as a scout and an assistant coach when his father Frank Layden was head coach of the Jazz back in '81.
"I think anybody who knows Scott," O'Connor said, "would not have an iota of reluctance."
Added Sloan: "He (O'Connor) knows Scott, and we've had a great relationship with Scott over the years. I don't think he (Layden) is going to cause any problems along those lines, and I don't think he's going to use this (job) to say, 'Hey, I can be a general manager.' He's not that kind of person. He's farthest from that."
O'Connor would not say if Layden's contract is for any longer than one season.
But Sloan and O'Connor both indicated that Jazz owner Larry H. Miller signed off on the hire, which will be formalized when Layden returns next weekend from a family vacation in Turkey.
Layden will begin work Sunday, when Jazz rookies, free agents and youngsters report to training camp for play in the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league that gets under way later next week.
"We run everything by Larry, because he's the man who owns the team," said O'Connor, adding that both pros and cons of the matter were discussed among Jazz brass before a final decision was made.
"Larry felt that if this could help the Jazz, and Jerry was comfortable with this situation, and he (Layden) could bring something to the table, then he was for it."
Sloan, who worked both alongside Layden as an assistant and as head coach when Layden ran the Jazz's front office, is obviously quite comfortable with the arrangement.
"I thought he did a terrific job," Sloan said of Layden, who was responsible for drafting Jazz stars John Stockton and Karl Malone and building from the front office the team the duo led the 1997 and '98 NBA Finals. "He was involved in every way that was humanly possible, and he never shied away from it.
"You don't see Scott talking about (his work ethic)," Sloan added. "He just goes about it quietly, and I have a great deal of respect for that."
Which is all O'Connor needed to hear.
"Obviously," the Jazz's current front-office boss said, "familiarity with Scott being here (previously), and the numbers of years he was here, and the numbers of years he worked with Jerry — we felt Jerry has every right to put together the staff he wants."
Longtime right-hand man and former NBA Coach of the Year Phil Johnson remains Sloan's top assistant, and Sloan said last year's No. 3 assistant, ex-Jazz forward Tyrone Corbin, will assume added videotape-breakdown and opponent-preparation duties.
Layden — who has been anxious to get back into the league after failing to make it through to the end of his six-year, $30 million contract with the Knicks — apparently did not hesitate when asked to join that staff.
"I just think he felt a comfort level with Coach," O'Connor said, "and he felt a comfort level with the organization."
Man of many hats
A look at new Jazz assistant coach Scott Layden's long NBA resume:
1981-82: Jazz scout/assistant coach
1982-88: Jazz assistant coach
1988-90: Jazz director of player personnel/assistant coach
1990-92: Jazz director of player personnel
1992-96: Jazz director of basketball operations
1996-99: Jazz vice president of basketball operations
1999-2001: Knicks executive vice president and general manager
2001-2003: Knicks president and general manager
Beginning Sunday: Jazz assistant coach