If James returns to the Cavaliers and is interested in trying to convince Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski to coach here -- that's two giant ifs -- he might have a tough time.
UPDATED: 8:52 p.m.
(Chasing down rumors about LeBron James' basketball future could be a full-time job. Now it's my full-time job. Just call me The Rumor Monger. Every day we'll compile a list of the rumors we're hearing about James and his next contract. Just remember these are just rumors, not necessarily facts.
It's going to be a long and rough ride, Cavs fans. Buckle up. -- Mary Schmitt Boyer)
An institution at Duke and arguably one of the top five coaches in NCAA history, Mike Krzyzewski's collegiate success would make a move to the NBA (and the Cavaliers) very unlikely, says Duke grad Grant Hill.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If James returns to the Cavaliers and is interested in trying to convince Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski to coach here -- that's two giant ifs -- he might have a tough time. Phoenix forward -- and Duke alum -- Grant Hill told Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports that he can't see Krzyzewski leaving the college ranks.
Said Hill, "He gets his fix with the Dream Team. (Team USA includes James and won the Olympic gold medal in 2008.) He gets the best players without all the headaches. What I mean by that is if you go through a season, there are things that come up. Not every situation is ideal in terms of having the chemistry or camaraderie that we have or the Lakers have, the teams that are playing right now. He can get those [Team USA] guys to buy in. They're All Stars who suppress their egos and buy into what they're doing.
"But if he turned down the Lakers, turned down New Jersey, I can't see him going to Cleveland. I think he's happy, he's content and they got some good players there. We're about to make another [championship] run [at Duke]. He's in a good place: Lifetime contract, involved with the business school.
"I'm trying not to be biased, trying to be objective, he really was what Dean Smith was 10 to 20 years. He is college basketball. He's the face. He knows he has a good thing going and I can't see him leaving."
• Then there's the rumor about Lakers coach Phil Jackson returning to Chicago.
ESPN's Chris Broussard said the Bulls have '"reached out through back channels to gauge his interest" in returning to Chicago.
Funny, I'd have thought Jackson was kind of busy right coaching the Lakers in the playoffs. But whatever.
Anyway, Broussard, a former Plain Dealer reporter who covered the pre-James Cavs for the Akron Beacon-Journal, writes, "James is intrigued by the possibility of playing with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, according to sources, and the return of Jackson would only make the Bulls that much more attractive to the Cleveland Cavaliers' two-time MVP. ... Jackson, who is in the final year of his contract with the Lakers, likely would be interested in coaching Chicago only if James signed there.
"If Jackson and James joined the Bulls, Jackson would have the unparalleled opportunity to have coached Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and James."
A Bulls source downplayed the report to the Chicago Tribune, while an NBA source dismissed it as speculation to the Chicago Sun-Times.
But Fanhouse.com columnist Jay Mariotti, formerly of the Sun-Times, writes, "It would be enticing, sure, for Jackson to coach James after coaching Jordan, Bryant and O'Neal. But there's no guarantee that LeBron will end up in Chicago. The firing of [Mike] Brown, who often was criticized by James for his substitution patterns and bizarre game plans, might open the coaching door in Cleveland for John Calipari, James' good friend.
"Wasn't it curious to see Calipari, during the Game 5 debacle in which James shockingly laid down, sitting across from the Cavaliers' bench with LeBron's agent? By dismissing Brown on Monday, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert sent an olive branch to James and is telling him that he can hire the next coach."
Said former Dallas coach Avery Johnson on ESPN on Tuesday, "To put LeBron James and Phil Jackson together, that's going to be very difficult."
Johnson cited the great roster Jackson has with the Lakers, including Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, not to mention the great weather for a soon-to-be 65-year-old coach who has had some health problems.
Let's not forget Johnson is looking for a coaching job, too.
• Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones probably won't be helping Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recruit James when and if the time comes.
"I don’t think that Mark or the Mavericks really need me in any way," Jones told Tim MacMahon for his Mavericks blog on ESPNDallas.com. "They stand tall with what they could bring to the table for any basketball player, LeBron included."
Jones met James when the Cowboys opened the 2008 season in Cleveland, where noted Cowboys fan James was a guest in Jones' suite. James also had Jones speak at his party during All-Star Weekend.
"Certainly, I appreciate that he’s a Cowboys fan," Jones said of James. "He’s a credit. He’s a credit to sports and certainly the NBA. But Mark Cuban doesn’t need me to do anything but carry his bag for him."
We presume he means Cuban's bag...not James'.