That practically makes it a sitcom.

but Collins is kind of a special case. He’s a well respected basketball guy with a cushy TV gig who already turned down several other overtures. Having the first pick is also a special case. The bulls are again a few years off so why not let a grizzly old vet run the show for a few years. As much as we might like to see an uptempo team, we all know defense and execution are the keys to winning championships, not gimicky offenses. So Collins is a good choice. If you want Rose to turn into CP or DW, shouldn’t you at least want him to start under a coach like Scott or Sloan?

Either these players are gonna listen to Collins and buy in or they’re not. Coaches shelf life in the NBA is usually only 2 or 3 years anyway. Even coaches that don’ have an apprenticeship situation (not many) can still find themselves getting undermined by their players to other forms of management. If these players stop responding to Collins it will be because of their own issues, not because their’s a special assisstant coach. Not to mention the fact that this is not even definately gonna be the case, we should probably wait till Collins gets hired before we rip anything else.

The way this article is worded leaves room for interpretation but it seems like people are assuming that Pax is forcing Collins to take on a Pax-picked assistant, but consider:

1) Collins, Pax and Jerry are BFFs and Doug returning to Chicago is a mix of his desire to coach, to make amends/close the circle from his last run with the Bulls and to help Pax out of a tough spot. No idea how this mix is split in Doug’s mind, but there are obviously several factors playing into his decision and to me, it doesn’t appear to be a purely economic decision (guffaw away, skeptics).
2) Prior to the Bulls getting the #1 pick, Collins had stated that he didn’t want to coach and had even declined to speak with Pax about it after Skiles was let go. In fact, Collins appeared to be quite happy and successful as part of the TNT team.

So what if this whole lead assistant thing is actually being done for Doug’s benefit with his blessing? Since he and Pax are basketball soul mates Doug can leverage all the work that Pax has done to identify potential assistants. Also, bringing on a qualified assistant takes some pressure off Doug since he then has the flexibility to bail if he finds out that he can’t handle the grind of being a head coach anymore.

From the head assistant’s standpoint, this works because if Collins is successful and the Bulls go far, he will become “hot and upcoming” and will be courted by other teams. If Collins is not successful, it is likely that Collins will get tired and the assistant can then take the reins.

Believe it or not, I still trust Pax (but to be fair, my fierce loyalty has betrayed me before).

I mean isn’t insider information what we crave? And pax hasn’t come out and said,”we are hiring collins to do the job for two, maybe three years, and then i am going to kick him out of town regardless, and insert my beloved top asst who we have been grooming the past three years.” has that been said by pax? Its all specualtion, and whats wrong with hiring an asst who is on his way up, but not quite ready? i mean, its a contingency plan. Isn’t that responsible?

yahoo sports

Clearly, the Bulls having the No. 1 draft pick made the job more appealing. And you can be even more certain that if Collins gets the job, the Bulls will select Derrick Rose. Collins talks often during broadcasts of the importance of a point guard now in the NBA. As a former All-Star guard, Collins also has a preference for open-court ballhandlers and leaders.