Coaching Changes

So far 3 open coaching slots have been filled for next season. I'll take a little tour of the teams with new coaches and give a thought or two one what it means for those teams future.

Orlando- Orlando decided to go with the blast from the past, Brian Hill to guide them into the future. What this means for them in the future? I'm not quite sure. Hill's track record without Shaq isn't very impressive. In fact it's pretty terrible. However, I don't think Orlando is too far from the playoffs, especially in the East where the bottom half of the playoff teams chould change very easily. Only 3 teams strike me as locks for next years playoffs and those 3 teams are Detroit, Miami, and Indiana. A new coach and a few additions in the offseason and Orlando could easily finish the regular season as a playoff team. I think the main thing Orlando should be concerned with is getting a Center this off-season. Kelvin Cato, Andrew Declerq, and Mario Kasun doesn't sound too intimidating going into next year.

Grade the Move- B

Philadelphia- GM Billy King finally got his golden boy, Maurice Cheeks to come home to Philly and take over. I like Cheeks so I hope he does good there but I really don't see that team changing. Iverson has had 99 coaches and every team seems to be the same. The only plus I see out of this move is that Iverson respects (or so he says) Cheeks. Only time will tell when it comes to that. I think Iverson is a grade A baby. Regardless of the coach, with Iverson and Webber together for a whole season, they definitly have enough talent to reach the playoffs. I think that's all you get out of them though. Any team with Webber on it is doomed as far as I'm concerned. He's one of the softest players I've ever seen and I can't see him leading a team to the Finals and definitly never win a championship.

Grade the Move- B+

Cleveland- They were the first team of the off-season to grab an unproven coach. The Cavs decided to snatch Mike Brown away from Mike Carlisle and the Pacers. I won't pretend I know too much about him but I will say this. He was an assistant for 3 years with Greg Popovich and that automatically grabs my attention. Popovich is my favorite coach in the league. I think the Spurs are the definition of the way a team should play basketball and if he soaked up any knowledge at all from his 3 years with Pop, he'll do just fine. Mike Carlisle isn't a bad guy to learn from either. As I said for the 76'ers and Magic , any team could grab a playoff spot in the East. With King James leading them it shouldn't be a problem as long as they resign Big Z or get another top free agent.

Grade the Move- A-

That leaves Portland, Minnesota, LA Lakers, and New York with slots left to fill, and from what I've been reading, Detroit will be in need of a new coach after their season ends. Rumor has it that Larry Brown will jump ship once again, this time to be President of Basketball Operations in Cleveland. If he does leave, I just hope he sticks with this job. I don't want to see him leave to coach another team in the future. If he wants to coach he should stick with Detroit. If his health doesn't allow for coaching, then this move to Cleveland makes perfect sense.

You can expect Flip Saunders to take one of the jobs open ane whoever has him will have a good coach. I also read that Phil and Kobe are set to meet and see if they can work together. If that goes through you'll probably see the Lakers back in the playoffs next season.

When the positions are filled I'll let you know what I think about it. Until then having fun watching the end of the playoffs. I know I am. Go Spurs!