Perhaps ignoring the initial coaching success of Pat Riley, Doc Rivers or Bill Russell, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Sekou K. Smith wonders, “Is there a better racket going than the experience-free coaching carousel that™s currently churning out three-year, $7 million contracts in Chicago (Vinny Del Negro) and Detroit (Michael Curry)?”

The next time someone complains about overblown salaries for young players that haven™t proved themselves remind them that Del Negro and Curry, two swell cats I™m sure, have a total of one combined season of coaching experience going into their first training camps in the fall.

And that brings us to our regularly scheduled update on the status of Hawks coach Mike Woodson, who as of this writing still has not come to terms with the Hawks on a new contract.

What must he be thinking with all this cash (and these years) being bestowed upon not just head coaching but coaching neophytes?

He might not even keep his job and these guys are cashing in like they led a team to a surprising seven-game run in the first round of the playoffs against a team that is two wins away from winning the NBA title.

I™m not losing sleep for anyone involved, mind you, but I do think it is extremely interesting to watch how things play out every year when teams blow up whatever they have to take what they believe will be steps forward.

So the Bulls dumped Scott Skiles for Del Negro and they™re supposed to be better? I have a hard time seeing this come to fruition. But I™m prepared to be wrong (it happens).

If the Bulls have a higher opinion of Vinny than say, a guy they plan to murder by Thanksgiving, yeah, I think there’s every possibility they might be better next year. Though adding Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley should be as much of a factor as anything else.