NBA News, Notes, and Observations: May 29, 2008

With both Conference Finals on the cusp of ending, it's time for my last News, Notes, and Observations before the NBA Finals tip off next Thursday.

This week's trivia question: Who was the first power forward to score 20,000 points?

I Didn't Know He Doug Chicago

Doug Collins was hired on Thursday to be the new (old) head coach of the Chicago Bulls. Bulls fans have to be relieved that they at least got a coach they've heard of. The only other recognizable name I heard floated out there was Avery Johnson, and I think that Bulls fans would have rioted had they hired the Little General.

The hiring of Collins also led me to believe that the team will draft Derrick Rose. I can't imagine that Collins thinks that highly of Michael Beasley that he could lure him out of broadcasting and back onto the sideline.

Collins must've either been given assurances from John Paxson that the team was going to take Rose, or told Collins that he would be given a huge say in who the Bulls would take with the pick.

Collins' sudden about-face in returning to coaching says much more about the state of the Suns than it does about the state of the Bulls. Collins turned down the offer to become Suns' next coach by telling Steve Kerr that he had "no interest" in returning to coaching.

Sure the Bulls have the top pick in the draft and a nice collection of young talent. But what does it say about the Suns when Collins would rather inherit a 33-win team consisting of Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Smokim Noah, and either Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley than he would Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, and Shaq?

Shaw-Shaq Reunion?

I've never been one to resist tooting my own horn. One of the reasons I love blogging is that it provides me with proof when I make a correct prediction.

In my NNO column from May 9, I predicted that the Suns would probably end up hiring Brian Shaw or Alvin Gentry. It wasn't as if I'd heard either name mentioned before by another writer. I made the conclusion based on Shaq's relationship with Brian Shaw that dates back to their days in Orlando and Gentry being a Suns assistant with previous head coaching experience.

With Shaq's history of getting coaches fired, the Suns would be wise to hire a friend of his. If it doesn't work out then you fire him after a year and hope there's a better name out there next summer. The Suns wouldn't have to give Shaw anything more than a three-year contract worth $2-$3 million.

I mentioned Gentry because he was an assistant under Mike D'Antoni and I figured he'd lobby to get another chance to be a head coach after failing with the Clippers, Pistons, and Heat. Gentry had one winning season as a head coach and it came during the lockout-shortened season of 1999.

Today's Arizona Republic has an article about Shaw's candidacy and the New York Post has an article about how the Suns

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