Jeffery Denburg:Hawks will get the leftovers

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Hawks will get leftovers

By JEFFREY DENBERG

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer

The Hawks are not among the seven NBA teams with actual coaching vacancies, but most observers say a coaching change is more likely than not with a new owner about to come on board. The question, of course, is when?

Neither current management nor sources close to the team are at liberty to address the issue. Thus, the basketball staff is spending its time busily planning for the NBA Draft on June 26, including preparations to go to the Chicago scouting camp Tuesday through Friday.

It's possible, though not likely, the approval transfer from AOL Time Warner to car tycoon David McDavid may not be completed by draft day. So given the circumstances under which the Hawks now operate, if McDavid wants to hire a new coach and staff, it is hard to imagine the big-name candidates will hang around that long without an under-the-table agreement.

The stars of a deep pool of coaching prospects are the ones who have already shown they can be successful. Frozen in place until their sale is completed, the Hawks may find they have no choice but to stay with the current staff because all of the most attractive candidates could be gone.

Though reports out of Philadelphia indicated the 76ers were interested in Kentucky's Tubby Smith, who reportedly rejected their overtures, the era of the experiment with college coaches seems all but over. What Rick Pitino and John Calipari knocked sideways, Lon Kruger knocked dead.

Therefore, the Hawks' best hope among the proven talent may be Mike Dunleavy, who was reasonably successful in two of his three coaching stops.

The former NBA guard, who played at South Carolina under Frank McGuire, took the Lakers to the NBA finals in 1991. After one more season in L.A., Dunleavy bolted for Milwaukee and a four-year disaster when he failed to turn around the Bucks for Herb Kohl. A survivor, he moved to Portland, where he battled for a time with Isaiah Rider, winning 59 and 50 games, respectively, his last two seasons.

A Houston resident whose son Michael was a rookie with Golden State last season, Dunleavy's reputation appears to be reasonably strong, especially given the large number of available candidates. But he could also get a look from Houston and Philadelphia.

Here's a few other possibilities on where this remarkable coaching carousel will eventually stop:

Larry Brown can probably have any vacancy he wants. After all, he is a winner, and he brings status as the next U.S. Olympic coach. But he might not be on the market long. The Detroit Pistons fired coach Rick Carlisle on Saturday despite winning two consecutive division titles, and one report said the team would hire Brown on Monday. .

With Doug Collins' firing Friday in Washington, Brown is also being courted in some fashion by the Wizards, who reportedly are willing to pay him $7 million a year.

It wouldn't be surprising to see Jeff Van Gundy move to Cleveland with child prodigy LeBron James, especially after he ruled out the 76ers.

Paul Silas, the former New Orleans coach, is high on the Clippers' list but will certainly listen if the Sixers call, and don't exclude Cleveland and Atlanta from the running.

Mike Fratello, broadcaster and former Hawks and Cavaliers coach, is believed to be the frontrunner for New Orleans.

In Toronto, Sixers assistant Mike Woodson, along with Detroit assistant Kevin O'Neal, appear to be the finalists to coach the Raptors. Eddie Jordan, P.J. Carlesimo and Jim Cleamons are all well thought of but have no hard leads.

And finally there is the lingering Tim Floyd rumor. Would New Orleans or Toronto actually hire Floyd after his 49-190 record with Chicago?

Lakers have options

The Lakers hope to rework their roster with a combination of their mid-level salary-cap exception (about $4.7 million), the lower exceptions (the lowest is $1.4 million), trades and draft picks (Nos. 24 and 32).

The summer free-agent class is thick with power forwards who might be convinced to take a pay cut for the good of a championship run -- for example, P.J. Brown.

Or the Lakers could choose to address their backcourt shortcomings first, with the likes of Gary Payton, who made $12.6 million last season, which was split between Seattle and Milwaukee, and will be 35 in July. In that scenario, they probably would have to settle for a lesser power forward."

Get used to goofball Terry Stotts because I believe he

will be here next year.This guy isn't head coach worthy,

but it looks like they'll be no chance for a experienced

head coach that can actually draw players attention.