Coaches that should be candidates for the Detroit Pistons head coaching job

Maurice Cheeks was surprisingly fired as coach of the Detroit Pistons on Sunday after 50 games. Cheeks was 21-29 and was replaced by assistant John Loyer on an interim basis for the rest of the season.

Even though Loyer is auditioning for the job himself it's doubtful that he'll land the job permanently. The job won't be filled until the off-season and here are a list of candidates that should be in play to be the next coach of the Detroit Pistons.

Lionel Hollins- Hollins is the hot name right now for the job right now. He led the Memphis Grizzlies to the Western Conference finals last season with a roster that was similar to what the Pistons have now. Hollins has expressed interest in the Pistons and is the odds on favorite to land in Detroit.

Bill Laimbeer- Laimbeer is the fan favorite based on his playing days with the Pistons. The problem is that Laimbeer's coaching experience is limited to the WNBA and one year on the sidelines with the Minnesota Timberwolves. If Laimbeer coached the Pistons, I could see a fight breaking out with one of the players, but he could make the Pistons interesting.

George Karl- Karl has won everywhere he's been. Karl has also worn out his welcome everywhere he's been. He was the coach of the year last season and has led five different teams to the playoffs. I don't think the Pistons have a roster for Karl's preferred style of play.

Jeff Van Gundy- It's a long shot, but when your in the position the Pistons are in it's worth a try. I don't see Van Gundy leaving ABC anytime soon. He seems too comfortable next to Mike Breen.

Phil Jackson- This is an absolute pipe dream. Only if Tom Gores gave him part ownership, a star player and a boatload of cash.

Stan Van Gundy- I think Stan is comfortable in semi retirement. He could come back if the right team came calling. He's never had a losing record.

Nate McMillan- The former Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics coach interviewed three times during the Pistons’ last coaching search, when the job went to Cheeks. He’s now an assistant with the Indiana Pacers.  

George Karl being sued by his agent in a payment dispute

George Karl was fired by the Denver Nuggets this summer despite winning NBA coach of the year and getting the Nuggets to a three seed in a loaded Western Conference.

Karl is currently in a dispute with his long time agent Bret Adams. Adams is suing for breaching a contract and not being paid since January, Jeff Bell of BizJournals.com reported.

Former National Basketball Association coach George Karl is being sued by his long-time agent, Columbus attorney Bret Adams, in a payment dispute.

Adams filed suit in U.S. District Court in Columbus on Wednesday, claiming Karl has refused to pay him since January, allegedly breaching a contract between the two. The suit says the contract calls for Adams to receive $10,000 a month from Karl. He is asking for compensatory damages in excess of $75,000, attorney fees and other costs. …

Adams told me in an email he is hoping for an immediate resolution of the dispute, calling a Karl a 20-year friend and client.

If this is over money, Karl should pay what he owes. I suspect there's more to the story than Adams not being paid.  

Gary Payton says he nearly quit basketball as a rookie

It's hard to picture Gary Payton wanting to quit playing basketball early in his career, but it almost happened. Payton says that he was so down during his early years with the Seattle Supersonics that he contemplated giving up the game. 

Payton admitted that he struggled in his first two years under coach K.C. Jones, that if there wasn't a coaching change he might've quit playing. In his third year George Karl replaced K.C. Jones and Payton became one of the top guards in the NBA.

 “I was thinking about it,” Payton said in a phone conversation from his home in Las Vegas. “I was like, ‘What am I out here for? This isn’t even what I want to do. I’m not happy.’ I didn’t want to do anything….

“If we wouldn’t have changed coaches (from K.C. Jones to George Karl),” Payton said, “I would have probably said, ‘Yo, you know what? I want to end this. I don’t want to do this anymore because I’m not happy.’ If they would have stayed with the same coach, I would have probably just shut it down. They would have tried to trade me or I would have told them I don’t want to play there anymore.

“I went to my agent, I went to my father, I just said, ‘I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m good enough to play in this league. I’ve got a coach who wants to play me in the first and the third quarter. He has no confidence in me.’ They told me the same thing. ‘You’ve got to stick it out. You’ve got to be the guy who you’re supposed to be. You’re tough. You’re this.’ My father was like, ‘Are you crazy? If you quit, I’m gonna get in your (body).’ Stuff like that.”

I remember Gary’s struggles. He was on the brink of being labeled a bust then Karl got hired and his career begin to take off. He clearly wasn't the player he was at Oregon State until he was able to play in a system that fit his talents.


 

Andre Iguodala says JaVale McGee is actually smart

When you think of the Denver Nuggets' JaVale McGee the first thing that comes to mind is one of the many boneheaded plays he's made in his short NBA career. Granted most of those were with the Washington Wizards so I can give him half a pass on that.

McGee has never been known to be the sharpest tool in the shed but his teammate Andre Iguodala tells a different story. During an interview with GQ magazine Iguodala revealed a much brighter side to McGee.

JaVale McGee is one of the smartest guys I know. Like, he's a nerd, plays with gadgets and is into technology. He's funny--he's got crazy jokes and his timing with jokes is really funny. You have to be really smart to think the way he does. He's a thinker, so his mind goes into a lot of different places, and I think that can be taken the wrong way when he's on the court--he can be an over-thinker at times.

Personally, I understand McGee a little more than I used to. If you ask me it just seems like he may outsmart himself every once in a while. The problem is that those moments are a bit too frequent which is why George Karl keeps him on the bench instead of giving him a starting role. McGee is talented and if he can ever cut down on his mistakes and not float, he can be a very good player.

Despite Iguodala's claims the Nuggets are still waiting for McGee to get with the program.

George Karl thinks LeBron can eventually return to Cleveland

LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers a hot mess. It was an ugly breakup, with fans burning his jersey and the owner Dan Gilbert going on a rant saying that the Cavs would win a title before the "so-called King" would. Meanwhile James was in South Beach predicting multiple titles.

Even though the chances are remote, James left the door open for a possible return after realizing he handled 'The Decision' poorly. It could happen later down the line, but I'm not holding my breath for that to happen. It would be hard for the city and organization to embrace him again, but stranger things have happened.

  In a report by FOX Sports Florida's Chris Tomasson, former Cavs coach and current Denver Nuggets coach, George Karl says he can see James returning to Cleveland to play again.

 "I think LeBron is at that stage where he's challenging himself to motivate him to do something that's maybe more difficult," Denver coach George Karl told FOX Sports Florida before Friday's game against Cleveland at the Pepsi Center. "I could see him maybe doing that (returning to the Cavaliers)."

"I see (Kyrie) Irving maybe being a reason for that," Karl said of the reigning Rookie of the Year, who leads Cleveland in scoring with a 23.5 average. 

Like I mentioned earlier, I think it's a remote possibility. The stars would have to align right for that to happen. Miami would have to fall out of contention (not happening), James wants to go back home possible free agent in 2014), or he's close to retiring and wants to make amends with the Cleveland fans. If his return to Cleveland happens I would bet it's reason number three that it happens.

I don't see it happening, but they do say you can go home again.



  

Karl Wants To Play Mavs In Playoffs, Not Thunder

If George Karl has his way, the Denver Nuggets will play the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. I wonder if the Mavericks will take this as a slight and tank just so they can play the Nuggets and beat them to a pulp once the playoffs roll around. Not saying that will happen, but it's a thought.

The Nuggets beat the Mavs 3-1 in the season series. Karl believes that since the Nuggets appear to be quicker and athletic than Dallas and would be a good matchup for Denver.

"If we had to pick and choose on it, we would probably say 55 percent Dallas, 45 percent Oklahoma City, only because Oklahoma City is athletic like we are and they have two great players," Denver coach George Karl told Ian Fitzsimmons of ESPN 103.3 FM's Galloway and Company, referring to Thunder forward Kevin Durant and point guard Russell Westbrook. "They have two All-Stars who are really in their prime and have never won on the playoff stage. I just think right now our speed might have more effect against Dallas than it will against Oklahoma City."


Karl also mentioned that the Nuggets would have the luxury of "doubling" off Shawn Marion.

I do think Karl is right in his assessment of playing an older, jump shooting, less athletic team. I just think he should've kept those comments to himself. They might come back to haunt him. 

Quote Of The Week: George Karl

In the aftermath of the Carmelo Anthony trade to the New York Knicks, coach George Karl seems to have a high opinion of his team, the Denver Nuggets.

“You guys must think I’m crazy but I think we’re good. I had one practice with them, and I’m going ‘whoa!’ What always kind of mystifies me about this world of basketball is there’s so many brilliant minds in basketball; there’s so many guys that believe in the zone or believe in the triangle-and-two, or believe in the slow-down offense, or believe in the fast passing game offense — there’s so many ways to build a philosophy and win. But it seems like in the NBA you can only win with super stars. And I don’t believe that. I’ve always coached kind of doing what everybody else does, I do different. When I went to Seattle, nobody trapped and nobody did anything, so we fronted the post, and we double-teamed post-ups, and we doubled 40 or 50 percent of possessions a game and that worked. I just think why can’t you build a team where you don’t have a top-five player, but maybe a top-20 player at every position. That’s kind of what I’m thinking what we’re going to be. We might not have an All Star, but at every position and maybe even have a bench that has more versatility and explosiveness than anybody else. So you have six or seven weapons, you might not have a superstar weapon, but you have good weapons. And then play hard, play defense, and be the most unselfish basketball team that you can be, because team wins more often than talent in this league anyways.”

Someone has to have confidence don't they? I do think the Nuggets have a future after Carmelo if they make the right moves.