What Goes Around...

This is so ludicrous that it's practically a waste of a post, but I feel like a published report is fair game. The New York Daily News has a story today on the ongoing shake-up over at MSG; you might have heard about it. According to beat writer Frank Isola, Isiah's long overdue dismissal is an all-but-done deal, and Donnie Walsh is leaning towards New York native, former point guard and current (exceptional) television analyst Mark Jackson to replace him. The only question is in what capacity: Jackson's long been considered an intriguing coaching candidate, but Isola suggests that Walsh might be interested in MJ for the GM position, which would be a somewhat weird move since Jackson's never held a position like that (do the Knicks really need a first-time GM?) and leads me to believe he'd basically just be a sidekick/puppet ruler in the new Walsh regime. Whatever, I'll cut to the chase. Five paragraphs into the story, once we're well ensconced in the Jackson-as-GM hypothetical, Isola drops his bombshell:

Another name that cannot be ruled out is Louisville's Rick Pitino, the former Knicks coach. Jackson considers Pitino the best coach he played for and the two have remained close throughout the years. Whether Pitino would leave college and return to the NBA for a third time is not known. The fact that Pitino would be answering to both Jackson and Walsh might also keep him from taking the job.

This is normally where I'd say something like, "you can't make this shit up," but honestly Isola's story is so poorly sourced that perhaps, indeed, you can. Nonetheless, how incredible would this be... not only would the Celtics come back next year on the heels of a 60-win-season (and who knows what else) but they'd come back to a situation where they'd face Rick Pitino four times as coach of the Knicks. Is there any doubt that Pitino could coax the loudest boos out of a Celtics crowd since the heyday of Bill Laimbeer?

Granted, I don't really see any possibility of this happening. Pitino's got a great situation at Louisville, and as Isola suggests, he's such an inveterate egomaniac that I can't see him going back to the NBA in a situation where he'd have to relinquish autonomy to Jackson and/or Walsh. That said, part of me feels like if they could convince him, it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world--remember, Pitino's problems were far more related to his management than his coaching, and his first go-round with the Knicks was pretty successful--but then I look at the Knicks roster and immediately conclude that it would be the worst idea in the world. I mean, can you imagine Rick Pitino trying to coach Eddy Curry? Please, please let this happen.