How The Carousel Turns

Avery Johnson was fired, Pat Riley retired, Larry Brown will coach the Bobcats, Scott Skiles will coach Milwaukee, and it appears Mike D'Antoni may be on his way out of Phoenix. If you haven't already picked up on it, the coaching carousel is in motion. What moves might we see, come this off-season?

New Jersey Nets - Lawrence Frank (OUT), Rick Carlisle (IN)
Carlisle is on the list of candidates in Dallas and Chicago, but with bigger name coaches out there, I think he'll lose out for those two positions. Lawrence Frank has run his course in New Jersey, and Carlisle would be a low risk replacement. For the record, I certainly don't think Carlisle will do any better than Frank in New Jersey.

New York Knicks - Isiah Thomas (OUT), Mark Jackson (IN)
Isiah's already been canned (finally), and Mark Jackson is the front runner for the vacant spot. The availability of Avery Johnson and D'Antoni has the possibility to create some competition in the Big Apple, but in the end Mark Jackson is the best fit in NY.

Toronto - Sam Mitchell
If the Raptors want Avery Johnson, I think he'll be available to go to Toronto. But, Avery wouldn't be a huge upgrade over Sam Mitchell. The Raptors are still building, and should give Mitchell one more year to improve his team's playoff performance.

Chicago - Jim Boylan (OUT), Mike D'Antoni (IN)
Boylan's already been fired, and the coaching search is on. "The Bulls' list of coaching candidates is expected to include Jeff Van Gundy, Rick Carlisle, Terry Porter, Mike Fratello and Boston assistant Tom Thibodeau." (USA Today). Those are all decent prospects, but D'Antoni's fast break style could turn the "Baby Bulls" into the Suns of the East (except, in the East, being the Suns can get you to the NBA Finals).

Detroit - Flip Saunders (OUT), Bill Laimbeer (IN)
This may sound a little bizarre, and maybe it is. If Detroit doesn't make it to the finals this year, I don't see Flip Saunders making it to next season. Bill Laimbeer has accomplished all he can in the WNBA and would be the guy to bring back the defense first attitude that made Detroit such a good team to begin with.

Denver - George Karl (OUT), Del Harris (IN)
Harris was widely regarded as the best assistant coach in the league while with the Mavericks, and would bring a solid defensive philosophy to Denver. There's no question, the Nuggets have character issues. Harris brings a more disciplined approach, and the experience necessary to gain the respect of 'Melo, AI, and K-Mart.

Phoenix Suns - Mike D'Antoni (OUT), Mike Fratello (IN)
I'm not sold on Fratello, but he would make sense in Phoenix. He would improve the Suns defense, without killing their fast break. Fratello should also be able to come up with a better game plan to utilize Shaq and Amare together.

Dallas - Avery Johnson (OUT), Jeff Van Gundy (IN)
Van Gundy is a veteran coach that can teach defense, which Dallas sorely needs. I can see Van Gundy and Cuban hitting it off during the interview process. I don't think Dallas will win a championship until they make some serious personnel changes, but Van Gundy is a solid choice.

If Avery Johnson remains available, teams like Minnesota, Memphis, Portland, and Seattle would be foolish not to pursue him. He's a young coach, with a lot of potential to get even better. He would be just what the doctor ordered for a team trying to rebuild.