With Mike Krzyzewski likely having coached in his last Olympics, there's a "near-unanimous feeling in basketball circles" that Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is the logical choice to replace him for 2016, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. But a source briefed on internal discussions regarding Coach K's replacement tells Berger that Celtics coach Doc Rivers shouldn't be ruled out.
"With Doc, I think it would keep the same chemistry going," a source told Berger. "If Pop comes in, he would want his own way of doing it – kind of the Spurs' secretive way of doing things – and out of Jerry [Colangelo]'s norm."
As Rivers and the Celtics prepare for tomorrow night's game against the Warriors, let's check in on a few other items from around the Atlantic Division:
- Former Celtics coach Rick Pitino, who coached Terrence Williams at Louisville, tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald that he believes Williams could be a great fit in Boston.
- Kenyon Martin isn't losing sleep over whether or not the Knicks will hang on to him beyond his first 10-day contract, as he tells Al Iannazzone of Newsday. "If what I do merits for me to be here the rest of the year, then I will be," Martin said. "And if not, then I won't. But I think the way my game is and the way I play, I'll let my play speak for itself."
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun acknowledges that it will hurt Andrea Bargnani's offseason trade value if the Raptors bench him now. However, Wolstat thinks it must be done, since Bargnani's current performance isn't helping the team or his trade value anyway.
- The Sixers helped create their current mess by sending a message to the team that Andrew Bynum was the only player who mattered, opines Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News.