Wilbon: There Are Lots of Riders On the Coaching Carousel

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35869-2003May24.html?nav=hptoc_s

By Michael Wilbon
Washington Post

Sunday, May 25, 2003; Page E01




Rudy Tomjanovich should have known he was in trouble as early as training camp when his owner, Les Alexander, said the Houston Rockets had assembled just about the finest team in the NBA. Flush with excitement over the arrival of rookie phenom Yao Ming, the owner wasn't just premature, he was dead wrong. The Rockets have some nice pieces, but not enough to complete a championship puzzle. Still, that didn't stop him and his director of operations, Carroll Dawson, from creating a set of crazy expectations for the Rockets. And when the Rockets missed the playoffs, Alexander and Dawson aimed their disappointment at Tomjanovich, who resigned with a nudge to his back.

Yes, Tomjanovich will apparently stay on in Houston; the Rockets at the very least owe him that for spending an entire career with one club, as a player, scout and coach who led the team to a pair of NBA championships in the mid-1990s. And the March discovery of cancer on the lining of his bladder that forced him to miss the final 17 games of the season might not have allowed him to continue anyway. But Alexander's absurd expectations and Dawson's perception that the Rockets' younger players weren't developing as rapidly as they should led as much as anything to Tomjanovich's resignation.

It also has led to coaching musical chairs like the NBA has rarely seen. And although the NBA Western Conference finals are being played out here, it's also center stage for the fast-flying coaching rumors. Not only are former NBA coaches Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Fratello here broadcasting the Dallas-San Antonio series for Turner Sports, potential coaches are everywhere. Kenny Smith, the razor-sharp Turner analyst, is also being discussed in some executive offices. Former head coach Del Harris is one of about 1,000 coaches on the Mavericks' bench. And for that matter, it hasn't been decided whether Don Nelson is in Big D for the long-term, whether Indiana Pacers boss Donnie Walsh is going to retain Isiah Thomas, or whether Larry Brown is going to be in Philadelphia any longer.

So here's what we've got midway through the weekend: The Rockets have Yao Ming, Steve Francis, a bunch of young players and a shiny new arena that would attract just about any NBA coach. The Cleveland Cavaliers will have LeBron James to go along with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Ricky Davis, Dajuan Wagner and Carlos Boozer, a starting five that looks like the core of a playoff team. The Sacramento Kings aren't sold on Rick Adelman being their best option, even if an injury to Chris Webber did undermine the team's best shot at winning a championship.

And the Washington Wizards presumably will hire a coach to replace Doug Collins, though few A-list candidates seem to be interested at the moment. The short list starts with Van Gundy, who led the Knicks to the NBA Finals in 1999, and Paul Silas, who led the Hornets to the playoffs in each of his four full seasons, twice into the second round despite myriad injuries, a tragic death and franchise relocation.

ESPN radio reported Friday night that Van Gundy had already reached agreement to become the next head coach of the Cavaliers. But Van Gundy reiterated before Game 3 here that even though he had talked to the Cavaliers -- he also said that earlier in the week -- nothing was final and he was not the coach. The Cavs' job certainly is Van Gundy's if he wants it. But Van Gundy has consistently said he would prefer to re-enter the coaching profession with a playoff team, not a project. Cleveland, no matter how much buzz accompanies James, is a project. And James and his first coach are destined to have major clashes. "Nobody has ever told that kid no in his life," one NBA coach told me Friday night. "As attractive as that job is, it also has plenty of potential pitfalls."

So why wouldn't Van Gundy wait to see what the Rockets have to say, especially since Houston narrowly missed the playoffs and is probably two seasons farther along the road to contention than Cleveland? Suppose the Kings fire Adelman? Van Gundy isn't crazy. There was no need for him to have made a decision before the end of this weekend, unless he is that sold on LeBron James. But Van Gundy's decision will set everything in motion. If he goes to Houston, Silas would be next on deck, even though there are some GMs who wonder whether he's too easy on players and would be more suited to a veteran team with self-starters.

Could either Van Gundy or Fratello, who had indisputable success in Cleveland and Atlanta, wind up in Washington?

No chance.

Had the Wizards won the lottery, or at least finished in the top three and had access to James, Darko Milicic or Carmelo Anthony -- pillars for rebuilding -- it might have caused some of the top candidates to reassess the Wizards. Silas, should he not be plucked by the Cavaliers, Rockets or Kings, would probably be interested in talking to the Wizards. But one of several factors working against the Wizards, according to current and former coaches is the club's handling of Collins. Abe Pollin has yet to fire Collins, though he wanted to late in the season and has no intention at this point of having him back. Collins may not be popular among his own players, but he is very popular among his peers. And several said that the ongoing Collins affair has them leery of dealing with Washington, particularly since Pollin has yet to hire somebody to run basketball operations.

Pollin may have declared on Thursday night that the firing of Michael Jordan and its emotional aftermath in Washington is over and done, but that isn't the case in the basketball community, which is a damaging perception when the club still has to hire a lead executive and a head coach. Larry Brown, for instance, would be more interested in returning to the Los Angeles Clippers than driving south on I-95 to work in Washington. Chairman Ed Snider's recent comments that he isn't going to beg Brown to return to the club suggests to some that Brown could be out soon.

So, who wouldn't want Brown, who, for my money, is second to Phil Jackson among active NBA coaches any team would want. What, Brown wouldn't improve the Kings? As fine a coach as Rudy T. is -- all he did was win two titles, which Brown hasn't done -- the Rockets would improve 15 games next season if Brown is on the bench in Houston.

Houston and Cleveland are much more likely destinations than Washington. And if you throw the Kings and Pacers into the mix, that makes four jobs coaches would find more attractive than anything the Wizards have to offer. And with the stars going down like flies in the NBA playoffs -- Dirk Nowitzki's knee injury could keep him out the rest of this series -- the coaches' carousel may be more interesting to watch than the basketball, at least until the Finals begin June 4.



© 2003 The Washington Post Company

 

No way...Clutch will have already let the cat out of the bag by then.