Friday, May 30, 2008

Daly on Collins: Doug is a beyond-brilliant basketball man

I honestly believe that all of the NBA hires this offseason have been good ones. Teams went out and got veteran coaches, with the exception of Miami, but they've had a long look at Erik Spoelstra so it's not like they're gambling.

Larry Brown (CHA), Rick Carlisle (DAL), Mike D'Antoni (NY), Scott Skiles (MIL), and Doug Collins rumored (CHI) should all be successful in 2008-09. Speaking of Collins, you may have seen what Chuck Daly had to say about the possibility of the Bulls' new coach:

''I was shocked at how long it's been taking the Bulls to hire a coach, and now I know why. This is a brilliant hire by the Bulls because Doug is a beyond-brilliant basketball man. He's proven it pretty much everywhere he's been. He really knows the game, understands it, can teach it and he has matured into a wonderful person. 'With them getting the No. 1 draft pick, I don't think they could have hired a better coach."

There are at least two other terrific coaches out there with a combined 28 years of NBA coaching experience: Mike Fratello and Jeff Van Gundy.