Coach of the Year Update

Derek Fisher is now out of the race for Coach of the Year as he has been fired by the Knicks. He never seemed like the right guy to coach that team to begin with, so I guess I'm not surprised that he's no longer the coach, although I don't see any particular reason to fire him now. The rumor is the Knicks are hot on the trail of Luke Walton--and the next rumor is the Lakers are too (and that Byron Scott would sooner rather than later be removed from Coach of the Year contention). Walton's credentials are he won a bunch of games as the interim coach of the greatest team in league history; there's some value in that but I don't see anything about the Warriors' situation that corresponds to the Knicks or the Lakers.

Where does Fisher go from here? He's got no NCAA cred, I don't see him as a TV commentator any time soon, and he wasn't successful enough with the Knicks to move him higher on the depth chart above, say, Thibodeau or Mark Jackson or even D'Antoni. The creepy realization is he'd probably an assistant for Luke Walton if he ends up with the Lakers (any thought that Fisher could help lure Durant to the Lake Show?). Almost certainly his next job will be as an assistant coach somewhere in the NBA (maybe with the Pelicans or Thunder). I guess he could go to the Nets, but, man, who wants that heart burn? Might the Grizzlies be interested in him if they let of Joerger?

As for the Knicks, they'll have Kurt Rambis as the interim coach. And if they fail on their run at Walton, the job is supposedly all wrapped up and ready for Thibodeau. I'm lukewarm on Thibodeau for most jobs but I think this one would be a good fit. NYK needs some leadership, some direction, and Thibs would definitely bring that. (Hmmm, would NYK be interested in free agent-to-be Joakim Noah?)

Next up on the rumor mill: George Karl's days with the Kings appear to be numbered. And the Lakers are already apparently looking for Byron Scott's replacement (but then again I assume searching for his replacement began four seconds after introducing him as the coach).

Coach of the Year, as of right now, is still Popovich. Who else is even in the discussion? Dwayne Casey (Raptors)? Brad Stevens (Celtics)? How about Quin Snyder (Jazz)? Yeah, still clearly Popovich, don't ya think?