Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - The New Jersey Nets fired head coach Byron Scott on Monday, and just one day later Boston's Jim O'Brien resigned as the general of the Boston Celtics.

What is going on here?

Actually, I am not surprised by either move. Rumors of New Jersey's superstar point guard Jason Kidd complaining of Scott's coaching tactics have been well documented, while O'Brien just got worn down by Boston's head of basketball operations Danny Ainge.

Scott, who was replaced by head assistant coach Lawrence Frank, is New Jersey's all-time winningest coach. He posted a 149-139 record in three-plus seasons with the Nets. Scott's accomplishments with the Nets are highlighted by two consecutive trips to the NBA Finals.

"We appreciate all of the work, effort, sacrifice and success that Byron has produced over the past three and a half seasons," said Nets President Rod Thorn. "I felt that at this time it is necessary to take the team in a different direction, and I am confident Lawrence will be an outstanding leader for our team, "

Kidd, and New Jersey power forward Kenyon Martin, criticized Scott's coaching moves during last year's NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. The duo did not agree with the way Scott used former Nets center Dikembe Mutombo and the coach's stubbornness not to double team Finals MVP Tim Duncan.

Scott's firing is a case of the inmates running the asylum. The bottom line is that he got results. The Nets' players better be ready to put up or shut up, as they have run out of town the most successful coach in the history of the franchise.

The situation in Boston was different than the one in New Jersey.

Like Scott with the Nets, I felt O'Brien had done a great job with the Celtics. He led Boston to consecutive playoff berths after a six-year absence from the postseason. O'Brien, who was replaced by assistant coach John Carroll, took over for Rick Pitino on January 8, 2001, and recorded an overall mark of 139-119 as the Celtics' general.

O'Brien's departure has a lot to do with conflicts between himself and Ainge.

"The philosophical differences, again, I think there are philosophical differences in every organization, within the coaching staff, the general manager and a coach, I think those things just exist," said Ainge. "I spent a lot of time this summer analyzing the coaching possibilities and Jim O'Brien was my choice. And even knowing that there was philosophical coaching differences. There's no such thing as that perfect coach. I was willing to work through those but Jim did not see that same long term vision that I saw."

In 2002, O'Brien guided the Celtics, who were defeated by the Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals, to within two games of a berth in the NBA Finals. Last season, he led Boston, which fell in the second round to New Jersey, to a first-round upset of Indiana.

O'Brien was doing an excellent job with the Celtics. He had a pair of All- Stars in Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker. Both Pierce and Walker are in the prime of their careers and together they formed one of the most potent one-two punches in the NBA. It seemed to me that all O'Brien needed was just one more piece of the puzzle to get Boston to the next level.

What went wrong?

For starters, Boston hired Ainge as the team's new head of basketball operations. What did the former Celtic great do to irritate and frustrate O'Brien.

What about that awful trade Ainge made in the offseason with Dallas? He traded the three-time All-Star Walker and guard Tony Delk to the Mavericks for center Raef LaFrentz, Jiri Welsch, Chris Mills and a first-round pick next season. One would think O'Brien would not have been a fan of that deal.

However, Ainge said that O'Brien supported the deal with Dallas. "He (O'Brien) was 100% on board with the Antoine trade. Every ounce of it."

What about the trade with Cleveland? On December 15, 2003, the Celtics acquired controversial guard Ricky Davis, center Chris Mihm, forward Michael Stewart and a second-round draft pick from Cleveland for swingman Eric Williams, center Tony Battie, and forward Kedrick Brown. Was O'Brien happy about getting a player (Davis) that is known to be selfish and difficult to deal with?

"No he was not on board 100%," said Ainge when asked about the Cleveland trade.

O'Brien has proven that he can coach on the NBA level, while Ainge, who proved he could play back in the day, has not proven anything as an executive in the NBA. Boston has lost a very good coach in O'Brien.

The bottom line is that Ainge and O'Brien could not co-exist. One of them had to go, and it was the coach.

Are the Celtics and Nets better teams with their new head coaches? I don't think so.