Suns and Raptors Should Swap

Now that the Raptors season is over GM Bryan Colangelo needs to fire Sam Mitchell immediately (I respect the Mavs canning Avery Johnson two days after their season ended because the decision now won't linger. More on that in a minute).

Mitchell has really done all he can do with this team and can't get them any further. The players like him but his tantrums and emotions are going to start to wear thin soon, especially if the team is not improving. And they won't improve because he is a lousy game coach. He always looks confused the last five minutes of close games and can never get the right defensive matchups he wants, which is a sign the other coach is doing a better job.

Who should replace Mitchell? Mike D'Antoni, who almost certainly won't be back with the Suns next year. D'Antoni is in a similar situation to Mitchell in that he wasn't hired by his current boss/GM and therefore the current GM has no vested interest in him. D'Antoni pushed hard for the Shaq trade and he will be the fall guy. Colangelo loves him and he would be a perfect coach for the Raps (yes I know Bill Simmons pointed this out yesterday on ESPN.com but I was thinking it since the Suns choked away games 1 & 2 against the Spurs).

I think D'Antoni is a great 2nd tier coach. The only truly great coaches in the league (guys who can manage both players and games, the first tier guys) are Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, Jerry Sloan, Pat Riley (he'll be back) and Larry Brown. D'Antoni has lost two years in a row to Popovich but so does everyone else. Those who say he can't coach don't know squat about basketball. If you think he should be fired it is because the Suns just need a change not because he deserves it. He was stuck with a bad defensive team and couldn't overcome it. Steve Nash is not and never has been a good defender, Shaq is slower than he used to be and Diaw is clueless. The guy who should be their best defender is Amare Stoudemire and he has absolutely no interest at all in defense. You could say that is D'Antoni's fault but I guarantee you there next coach doesn't get anymore out of him either. Sure they had a stopper in Shawn Marion but they had to trade him because they couldn't win with him because he was such a whining me first guy that he doesn't give a damn whether he wins or loses as long as he gets his $18 million per year.

I also think Colangelo should try to deal with Steve Kerr. The Raps need to sign Jose Calderon immediately as their starting point next year then trade Jason Kapono and TJ Ford to the Suns for Leandro Barbosa. The Suns need a quick young guard to spell Nash (Ford) and even have on the court at the same time to play even faster, and a three point shooter to spread the floor (Kapono). They can sign a defensive perimeter player and give it one last run next year. The Raps need another athletic forward who can score and Barbosa is perfect for them. Especially if D'Antoni is running the team.

Other notes....

- Avery Johnson didn't deserve to get fired but he should have been fired. What I mean is he did a good job over three years with this team but the team quit on him and he just couldn't coach a veteran team. He will fit in really well with a young team that is still developing.

The real problem for the Mavs is that their roster just isn't that good. Nowitzki is a key piece but not the key piece on a title team. Jason Kidd is way past his prime and is there for another long year. Jason Terry isn't getting any better, Erik Dampier is useless and untradeable and Josh Howard has really hurt his trade value with his awful performance on and off the court the past two weeks.

If I was Mark Cuban I would trade Dirk for two first rounders, a young forward and expiring contracts. That way he will have plenty of cap room when Kidd comes off the after next year and start this whole thing over.

- Apologies to the Atlanta Hawks for suggesting they had no hope in hell against the Celtics. I think they will lose the series but I underestimated how loose they would play and failed to remember just how terrible a coach Doc Rivers is for the Celtics. When Joe Johnson scored 20 points in the fourth quarter with Ray Allen guarding him in Game 4 the funniest thing was Doc being caught on camera saying "God Damn It Ray." What the hell did you expect Doc? Allen has never been a good defender and you have him on a guy who can't miss. With Rovers reverting back to his former idiotic self the Celtics are no longer sure things to win their next series against the Cavs let alone the whole thing.