So reading the papers this morning and if you believe hoopshype(which I believe is correct 100% of the time) then the coaching situation is starting to shake down. Originally I had figured that Sam Mitchell would be out in Toronto and Marc Ivaroni would replace him. Suddenly Mitchell is staying, Stan VanGundy is in the picture, and things are starting to take shape. Here's the rundown based on rumors:
Houston: Rick Adelman great fit IMO. A team with a center who can pass, a defensive specialist(Battier) next to an offensive juggernaut(McGrady). Reminds me of Vladi Divac, Doug Christie, and Peja. Adelman did OK with that group and will have them pushing the ball like crazy.
Toronto: Mitchell stays.
Indiana: Stan VanGundy. Putting his name back in rotation added one more legitimate coaching candidate. Much like the draft the Sonics are sitting at around the 4th or 5th most attractive spot with 2-3 really good coaching candidates. Adding VanGundy to Indiana could drop another guy our way.
Memphis: Larry Brown. I'm not putting too much stock into this one. They also reportedly are interested in the Griffin/Ivaroni tandem of Phoenix. It has long been whispered that those two are marketing themselves as a package. Early on I thought that package was coming to Seattle but now they seem to have a clear preference of Presti in the GM spot.
So as of today vacancies in Charlotte, Sacramento, and Seattle. Orlando may have a very attractive opening but there are rumblings that Hill may have another chance to save his job. So the question is, how attractive is Seattle amonst that group.
I've got my rose colored glasses on for this one. Granted the location instability is a problem but IMO if you sell this right the situation is really attractive. For starters the team has more talent than its record would indicate. Talent is always a good thing in this league and our team has nowhere to go but up. I think a new coach would see the opportunity to come in here and even if they only did "pretty good" the turnaround would garner them big attention.
"How much attention?" How about local legend, saviour of the franchise. In any job offer you have to look at the best and worst case scenario. With the NBA the worst case is always that you are Dwayne Casey. Let go after a year and a half, likely before any franchise move happens anyway. The best case here is that you lead the team to 48 wins, the public rallies behind them again, gets a new arena, and you go down in history as a local legend. You cannot do that in Charlotte and I'm not sure you can do it in Sacramento where their winning tradition is not nearly as far in the rear-view mirror. Who can they land willing to take the chance to personally turn the team around?
My preference is that they split up the Ivaroni/Griffen tandem and wind up with Ivaroni as the coach and Sam Presti as GM. This hinges largely on the Memphis situation. If Presti is hired then it makes sense for him to look at former head coach and current Spurs assistant PJ Carlissimo. I sat next to PJ at summer league last year and he was a really nice guy. Not worthy of the billboards he got plastered all over in Golden State, but a solid enough candidate on his own. The other candidates include Paul Silas, Sam Vincent, Kurt Rambis, and Jim Cleamons.
Thoughts?