Planning playoffs? Call Nellie
DON NELSON PUT the word out to three Western Conference teams this week: If you want to make the playoffs this season, fire your current coach immediately and hire me. It's a bold statement, but in regards to the Kings, it's undoubtedly true; the Warriors, it's quite possibly true; and the SuperSonics, it's probably wishful thinking.
You see, Nelson will stop earning $5 million a year from Mark Cuban at season's end, and even at age 65, he still enjoys receiving monthly paychecks. He's definitely planning to coach somewhere next season.
So why not start the search now while some teams are desperate?
Like Sacramento, which thrust itself back into the playoff conversation by acquiring Ron Artest last week. Now if the Kings only had a coach whose philosophies were consistent with the wide-open playing styles of Artest, Mike Bibby and Bonzi Wells.
That's Nelson.
As for a possible return to the Warriors, there's just too much bad blood between Nelson and Chris Cohan for it to be even a remote possibility. That said, you wonder if the 61/2-year coach of the Warriors wouldn't be the best thing for Mike Dunleavy, just as he was for Chris Mullin.
Seattle has some interesting pieces. Then again, Denver has more, and Nelson already has a history of uprooting George Karl.
Stay tuned. With Kevin Garnett on the trade block and Nelson available as a free agent, the Western playoff race could get real interesting.
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