Before naming Paul Westphal the new coach of the Kings, Sacramento GM Geoff Petrie asked all three candidates (including Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis) if the team's set salary structure (two years at $1.5 million, a third year team option at $2 million) would work for them. If not, you know, see ya.
According to the team, Rambis -- mired in the Finals -- refused to answer if the salary structure would work. On Tuesday, Petrie pushed forth with the question. Rambis' agent Warren LeGarie said his client couldn't be bothered to think about it right now ... so Petrie hired Westphal. Now accusations that LeGarie had been ripping Westphal behind the scenes have come out, while Rambis claims he actually turned down the job.
It's a lot of drama for a job almost no one outside of Sacramento cares about.
The Rotation is a weekly study on the NBA by one of our All-Star voices. In rotation this week is Tom Ziller.
An annual tradition regular as daybreak, as the season ends a pack of coaches are mercilessly hacked to pieces by fans, media and often their own bosses. A parade of potential replacements jumps aboard the carousel. They dance, they preen ... one of them wins. A year or two or (fingers crossed) three later, said doll gets torn apart. The cycle continues.
There was a switch this season, though: the bloodletting happened during the season, as a record eight coaches met the iron maiden between opening night and Valentine's Day. Is there anyone left to execute at season's end?
Well ... yes. Of course there is. After the jump, we tell you whom and guess their replacements.
PHOENIX -- Kurt Rambis is the lucky one that was tasked with coaching the Rookie squad in Friday night's T-Mobile Rookie Challenge. I use the term "coaching" very loosely here, because if you've ever seen how these games play out, they end up as little more than an alley-oop and slam dunk contest very shortly after the opening tip.
Apparently though, Rambis didn't get the memo. Because he spent a good chunk of his time at the morning practice session trying to walk his team through some offensive sets and teach them some plays, and as you'll see in the following video, the players couldn't have seemed less interested in what was going on.
NBA Endgame will preview Celtics-Lakers from all angles. Right now: sports betting options for the basketball historian!
If we ever thought that this 2008 series would eclipse the Lakers - Celtics rivalry from a few decades ago, Sportsbook.com is here to make us forget that. They are offering a series of prop bets on the Finals (entitled "Old School-New School") that focus on fake matchups born out of historical stats created by the 1984 series that everyone so fondly remembers. Por ejemplo:
There are two problems with these types of wagers. One, if you bet on any of them in order to seriously make money and not just because they're fun, well, the first problem is yours. But that's an entirely different issue. (No, seriously. If you are risking bankruptcy because you think Luuuuke is a 'lock' to score six a game, call someone.)
The Bulls are taking their time with this whole "finding a coach" thing, interviewing just about anyone with a shred of interest in the job. According to Brian Hanley of the Chicago Sun-Times, John Paxson has already talked with ...deep breath ... Lakers assistants Brian Shaw and Kurt Rambis, current Jazz assistant Tyrone Corbin and former T'Wolves coach Dwane Casey -- and that's just this week!
Paxson was also scheduled to meet with Jeff Hornacek today and Kings assistant Chuck Person sometime this weekend, as well as John Lucas and Eric Snow sometime in the yet to be determined future. And, of course, don't forget about Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau, who won't get permission from his current employer until Boston completes their playoff run.
Count 'em up: that's 10 names, and that doesn't include Mark Jackson, who already interviewed, nor Pistons assistants Terry Porter and Michael Curry, who have been suggested as candidates in the past. Do you notice a recurring theme with all these names? With the exception of Thibodeau and Casey, they're all former players, which makes you wonder if a career coach who never had the chance to rub elbows with Paxson as a player stands much of a chance.
So it has come to this. Two years removed from an appearance in the Western Conference Finals, the Suns are now examining Lakers and mustache/glass combo legend Kurt Rambis (first reported here and then by ESPN.com) and former Bucks coach and current Pistons assistant coach Terry Porter for their now vacant head coaching position.
Not Avery Johnson, not Rick Carlisle, not Larry Brown. Two assistant coaches who were replaced in their last head coaching jobs. This is the future of the Phoenix Suns. And this after trying so hard to "make an impact" with the trade for Shaquille O'Neal. My how the mighty have fallen.
Now, getting past the obvious lack of star power, these choices actually aren't that bad. They're pretty solid, actually. Rambis is well liked by players, and had some success in the strike-shortened 1999 season. Porter is the much more interesting choice, having coached a severely undermanned Bucks team to the playoffs, and having worked extensively in Detroit. There's been a lot of talk about the Suns trying to become more "Spus-like"(maybe without the elder power forward eliminating key players) with defense and poise. But taking a more "Pistons-like" approach may be the wiser option. Teaching consistent defense mixed with an efficient offense may be a winning combination if a coach like Porter can keep their egos in check.
The Lakers went all out with the retro theme for their measuring-stick game with the Celtics, but I think in the end it was far too distracting for them to be able to seriously compete with one of the league's top teams. The sound system blared 80's hits from artists like Run DMC and Chaka Khan, the Laker Girls wore the old school dance gear with excessive glam makeup, and even assistant coach Kurt Rambis got in on the act by busting out the old black-rimmed glasses.
Both teams wore their throwback jerseys, but the Lakers took it one step too far by coming out in the retro short-shorts. While this was a unique gimmick that was absolutely hilarious, it also probably cost them the game. It got a huge laugh from the crowd, sure, but are the Lakers clowns, or a basketball team trying to win a game against the team with the best record in the league? They played like the former in the first quarter, looking awkward and playing completely out of sync as the Celtics jumped out to a 32-23 advantage. The lead got as high as 17 in the second quarter before the Lakers were able to regroup a bit and cut it back down to nine at the break.
It's Christmas Eve and Tyrus Thomas has no one scold him. This won't do. As of this second, there's no indication as to Scott Skiles' replacement as civilian leader of the Bulls. It's alright, actually -- Chicago doesn't strap them on until Wednesday, when the team visits San Antonio, who has lost only a single game at home this season.
So really, the next real game John Paxson needs to concern himself with is Friday's home tilt against Milwaukee. Surely, a current assistant such as Ron Adams or Pete Myers can manage the team until then. (Jim Boylan, Chicago's lead assistant, is a Skiles guy, having coached under him in Phoenix as well as being the lead assistant for the duration of the Skiles era in Chicago.) Will Paxson be able to locate his replacement (assuming it is not a dreaded 'interim' fellow like Adams or Myer) by then, what with the celebration of the birth of Christ and all?
Before naming Paul Westphal the new coach of the Kings, Sacramento GM Geoff Petrie asked all three candidates (including Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis) if the team's set salary structure (two years at $1.5 million, a third year team option at $2 million) would work for them. If not, you know, see ya.
FanHouse is coming to you live from Phoenix, covering the 
The Bulls are taking their time with this whole "finding a coach" thing, interviewing just about anyone with a shred of interest in the job. According to 
So it has come to this. Two years removed from an appearance in the Western Conference Finals, the Suns are now examining Lakers and mustache/glass combo legend 
The Lakers went all out with the retro theme for their measuring-stick game with the Celtics, but I think in the end it was far too distracting for them to be able to seriously compete with one of the league's top teams. The sound system blared 80's hits from artists like Run DMC and Chaka Khan, the Laker Girls wore the old school dance gear with excessive glam makeup, and even assistant coach 
It's Christmas Eve and 
