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Coach K in L.A.?

Is there anything in the world that could make a guy more unlikable than coaching the Duke Blue Devils, and then coaching the Los Angeles Lakers? That's like Saddam Hussein becoming the president of North Korea tomorrow.

But I'd like to see it. I wanna see Coach K go from "One Shining Moment" to "Let's Get It Started in Here." I wanna see him go from the Cameron Crazies to guys with shaved chests sitting in the front row talking to their agents on cell phones as they wave at TV cameras and eat nachos. A few hours ago, I was ready to say that the Rockets would be the league's most intriguing team next year. But Coach K in LA? Coach K and Kobe both trying to prove at the same time that they can get it done on the big stage, with no help from Shaq? You'd be fascinated. Even if you hated them both, you'd be fascinated.

Truth be told, I've never been able to work up much hate for Mike Krzyzewski. I've rarely wanted Duke to win, but I've always respected Krzyzewski. He sincerely cares about his players. He graduates them. He's run a clean program. He's always been the opposite of all the things that are wrong with college basketball.

But would this be a Pitino-esque disaster? Would he fail as embarrassingly as a lot of the other college coaches that have made the jump to the NBA recently?

I think it's unlikely. I don't think Coach K would put himself into any position where he'd be likely to fail. And no college coach has ever taken over a team as good as the one that he could inherit. He'll have at least half of the Kobe/Shaq duo, and whichever half it is, they'd be more determined than ever to win a championship.

I want it to happen. I want to see Duke fall off, and I want to see the NBA get more interesting. It's a no-lose situation.

What Happened to That Boy?

That boy was shipped to Houston for not a whole lot in return. And Houston, I suppose, becomes a championship contender. Contender is the operative word there, as opposed to favorite.

Depending on how the mess in Los Angeles gets sorted out, no NBA team will have two players as good as Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. They're both among the top ten in the league. The problem is that of those ten, McGrady and Yao are also the two that are least likely to figuratively speaking, grab on opponent by the throat and choke the life out of him. Neither imposes their will on the game. Yao, as dominant as he can be, will probably not ever develop a "feed me the ball, and I will get you a win" mentality. McGrady has actively hidden from the ball in key situations. What kind of a leader ends one year by letting a 3-1 lead in a playoff series slip away and then starts the next one with a 19-game losing streak?

One thing the Rockets lacked last year was a group of quality role players. They simply didn't have the depth that a championship team should have, and they still don't. If they want to make a serious run, they'll need about 3 more quality role players.

Juwan Howard seems to have gotten lost in all of this. The media treats this deal like a straight up T-Mac for Francis swap, but next year in the playoffs, Juwan Howard will be a factor. He'll do more for the Rockets than he ever did for the Magic. Of course, that's isn't saying a lot. If all he did for the Rockets this year was polish Jeff Van Gundy's shiny forehead and take Yao to a tattoo parlor, that would still be more of a contribution than he ever made to the Magic.

So Van Gundy and his shiny head are left a team that, in a best-case scenario, can be a championship contender, but will fall short of the elite level. The good news? That may be enough. The Spurs don't seem as invincible as they once did. Who knows what the Lakers will be trotting out next year. The Timberwolves still have to prove they're a championship team. The Kings have their own off-season issues to work out, with Vlade as a free agent (they'd miss him more than you'd think), and Chris Webber upset at the fans, upset at Peja, but apparently okay with the fact he himself did nothing to get the Kings closer to a title last year. The Mavericks lost the straw that stirs the drink in Steve Nash, and even if they were to acquire Shaq, they'll have to figure out how to fit him into their up-and-down offense, or alter their game plans all together. The kind of adjustment is not made easily. They're all flawed teams, but all exceptionally talented. The Rockets belong in this group.

For the Magic, I just don't get it. They've got the single most valuable trading to chip to come along in the NBA in years, and the best they can do is Francis, Cato, and Mobley? I don't know what other teams were offering, but I refuse to believe no one was offering a better package than that. If reports of the Pacers offering Ron Artest and Al Harrington were true, those two players would have made Orlando much better, much faster.

What they end up with is one player who's talented enough to be a building block, but I question how wise it is to build any team around a shoot-first point guard, especially when you've just drafted a low-post player that's expected to be your #1 scoring option at some point in the near future. If they want to base their offense around Dwight Howard, how smart is it to have a guy at the point who was just traded in part because of his reluctance or inability to feed the post?

You also get Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato, two guys who are fairly valuable players, but don't fit the mold of a rebuilding team. They're not old, but they aren't young enough or good enough to be guys you can build around. They're good candidates to be moved.

MJD's Seven Favorite Free Agents

Brian Cardinal. If there is one guy in free agency who can help all 30 NBA teams, it's The Custodian. Everyone from the Bobcats to the Pistons should be all over him this offseason. He'll sacrifice entire limbs to get a lose ball. His custodial skills also include a reliable three-point shot, solid defense, and unending hustle. There should be a spot for him on any team.

Damon Jones. This fella deserves a shot at a starting job somewhere. He had a game last year with 17 assists and 0 turnovers. That's just insane. He had a 4.64 Assist to turnover ratio, and averaged 11.4 assists per 48 minutes of play. He distributes the ball, doesn't turn it over, and can do his fair of scoring, too.

Eric Williams. He's a great locker room guy, coaches and players love him. He plays tough defense and sacrifices for the team. In other words, he's the kind of player that Danny Ainge just has no use for.

Chris Anderson. I didn't agree with Larry Bird that the NBA needed more white superstars, but I do think the league needs more white guys willing to wear big fluffy perms. For some reason, I've grown fond of the Birdman. He's 7'0" tall, absurdly athletic, can throw down with some thunder, and blocks shots. And he'll be cheap.

Stephen Jackson. It doesn't look like the Hawks will resign him, and I couldn't tell you why. There must be another group of free agents out there somewhere that I don't know about who want to sign with a terrible team with no head coach. All he's done is produce. He produced on a championship Spurs team, and on a terrible Hawks team. Shot selection can be an issue, but he brings it hard, and he lights it up.

Derek Fisher. I've got a feeling that Fisher's going to end up wherever Kobe ends up, but is there a team in the league that could use any player as much as Houston could use Derek Fisher? Veteran point, distributes the ball, plays defense, has a ton of championship experience. It's too bad that the .4 incident made me loathe him so much, because I actually love his game.

Adonal Foyle. It's difficult to find an NBA center who can score consistently. So if you can't have that, go in the other direction. My man Adonal averaged 3.8 blocks per 48 minutes of play. Say he scores 6 points a game, but blocks or otherwise makes impossible 5 shots on the defensive end. The offensive numbers aren't there, but in terms of points scored plus points saved, does he not compare favorably with the 15 points scored per game by a guy like Zydrunas Ilgauskus?

Stevie Sunshine

Without question, Phoenix became a significantly better basketball team yesterday.

It's very had to find a good point guard. The Suns just got one of the best. He's outstanding at getting out and running the break, and that could be devastating when paired with Amare Stoudamire, one of the two best power forwards in the league when it comes to running the floor. Shawn Marion and Joe Johnson can also get out and finish. I see the Suns building a Nets-like offense, but with the ability to score in the half court, too.

So the Suns today are a better team than they were yesterday, but here's what I'm wondering. Is it worth giving a 30-year-old player that big and that long of a contract if he isn't at least going to put you in contention for a championship? The Suns can be a very good team, but in the neighborhood of Sacramento and San Antonio? Doubtful.

The Suns give up most of their cap flexibility, and lock themselves in for $65 million over 5 years for a 30-year-old guy who doesn't play defense. It's the kind of contract that seems like a good idea at the time, but 3 or 4 years down the line, it's got a chance to look like something the Knicks would've done.

Question, comment, problem, tirade, hate mail, or love note? Feel free...

M.J. Darnell runs www.themightymjd.com.