Best Potential Candidates to Replace Mike Dunlap as Charlotte Bobcats Coach

Well, that didn't last long.

According to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, the Charlotte Bobcats have elected to part ways with head coach Mike Dunlap after he spent just one season at the helm. The Charlotte organization also confirmed the news with a statement released on NBA.com.

"

Mike Dunlap has been fired as Bobcats coach.

— Rick Bonnell (@rick_bonnell) April 23, 2013"

Blaming yet another atrocious Bobcats finish solely on Dunlap isn't possible. He inherited a mess and left it arguably better off than how he found it (though that's not saying much).

After beginning the season 7-5, Dunlap finished the year with a 21-61, winning three times as many games as the Bobcats did during the lockout-truncated campaign. The team also closed out the year on a three-game win streak.

With Dunlap gone, Charlotte is now the latest team to have a coaching vacancy; an opening that will be extremely difficult to fill.

For a bottom-feeder like the Bobcats, marquee names like Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan and Stan Van Gundy are pipe dreams. Even premiere assistants like Mike Budenholzer would seem out of reach.

Who among the available candidates could prove attainable, and which of them are the best fits?

There is a long list of sideline-meandering talent on the open market, but Michael Jordan will be limited to a select few.

*All stats for this article were compiled from Basketball-Reference unless otherwise noted.

5. Byron Scott

Years Experience: 13

Head Coaching Record: 416-521

Byron Scott should be higher on this list, but I almost didn't include him. Why? Because I fear he wouldn't want mix himself up with whatever is going down in Charlotte.

Fresh off being canned by the Cavaliers, the former Coach of the Year is no stranger to working with point guards. He's helped channel the talents of Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving and Jason Kidd, among others.

Scott hasn't shied away from taking over franchises in flux in the past, and if Michael Jordan can convince him to board Charlotte's runaway train, he could be pivotal in the development of Kemba Walker.

Although he's been thin on coaching accolades since his stint with the then-New Jersey Nets, it never hurts to pursue someone who helped guide his team toward two consecutive Eastern Conference championships.

4. Patrick Ewing

Years Experience: N/A

Head Coaching Record: N/A

Will somebody just hire this man already?

Patrick Ewing interviewed with the Bobcats nearly a year ago for the head coaching position, and as a buddy of Michael Jordan, it's not inconceivable to believe he could be brought back once again.

The 11-time All-Star (nine appearances) was a defensive savant during his years in the NBA. He helped transform Dwight Howard's post game when he was an assistant with the Orlando Magic and has been scouring the league for a head coaching spot for quite some time.

Ewing doesn't have any experience, but Charlotte cannot exactly be too selective, unless they're willing to spend some serious coin. He would come relatively cheap and instill a defensive philosophy that Bismack Biyombo and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist would buy into immediately.

Imagine Ewing transforming Biyombo's nearly non-existent offensive game as well. Better yet, envision what Ewing could do with a healthy Nerlens Noel if the Bobcats wind up with him on draft day.

The Hall of Famer has yet to sell a franchise on his head-coaching abilities, the Bobcats included, but perhaps it's time someone like Jordan gave him a shot.

3. Kelvin Sampson

Years Experience: N/A

Head Coaching Record: N/A

Would Kelvin Sampson have the patience to endure coaching the Bobcats?

I think so.

Charlotte is often compared to college teams and Sampson isn't short on experience at the collegiate level. He spent more than a decade as a head coach at the NCAA level and won National Coach of the Year twice.

Prior to joining the Houston Rockets, Sampson spent some time with the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant as well. He's generally considered an offensive-minded coach and is a huge part of the reason why the Rockets ranked second in points per game this season (106). He also spent some time manning the sidelines for Houston when Kevin McHale took a leave of absence.

What really intrigues me about Sampson is his experience in handling younger players. From coaching college to guiding the budding Bucks to now assisting with the youngest team in the NBA in the Rockets, inspiring impressionable talents is what he has always done.

Would he leave Houston, a promising young faction that managed to procure a playoff berth this season? Especially when he's been linked to a more fundamentally sound franchise like the Detroit Pistons?

"

Names I've heard: McMillan, Sampson, Sloan, Heat assistant David Fizdale. Not sure about the Van Gundy's #Pistons

— Vincent Goodwill (@vgoodwill) April 18, 2013"

The Bobcats shouldn't hesitate to find out.

2. Mike Malone

Years Experience: N/A

Head Coaching Record: N/A

Michael Jordan gave Mike Malone the shaft last summer when he interviewed with Charlotte, but what does he know? He also thought Jerry Sloan would come out of retirement to man his chaotic franchise. I'm also convinced that had to do more with salary or Malone actually rejecting the job than anything else.

No matter the reason, it's time the Bobcats revisited Malone.

He is considered Mark Jackson's No. 2 guy with the Golden State Warriors, and he was voted the best assistant in the NBA last year. He is also credited with transforming the New Orleans Hornets' defense during the 2010-11 campaign, when it was the most improved of any other team.

Charlotte ranked dead last in defensive efficiency this season, and could use a mind like Malone's to help improve their pitiful standing on that end of the floor.

Knowing what Malone has done in Golden State, New Orleans and even Portland, he could be the next great coach that few know about. A Tom Thibodeau, if you will. 

I'm not saying he'll generate the same results (he won't; have you seen Charlotte's roster?), but he's a first-timer Jordan could feel comfortable putting the fate of the Bobcats in.

1. Nate McMillan

Years Experience: 12

Head Coaching Record: 478-452

Nate McMillan knows defense. Nearly everyone on the Bobcats' roster doesn't (slight exaggeration). He also knows how to coach through adversity.

In other words, he and Charlotte could be the perfect match. Of course, that's if the more promisingly-constructed Pistons don't swoop him off his feet first.

I've always had a soft spot for McMillan. I've actually spent the better part of the year secretly hoping he would wind up as an assistant with the New York Knicks under Mike Woodson next season, knowing full well he's better suited as the head of a team. But hey, I hail from the Big Apple, delusional is what we do.

McMillan spent a total of 12 seasons coaching the Seattle Supersonics and Portland Trail Blazers, and was fired from both.

I personally didn't like the way he was so unceremoniously shown the door in Portland. Reports had him losing control of the locker room, a supposed crusade that was fueled by Raymond Felton and Jamal Crawford. Both are no longer with the Blazers and both have never bought into defense.

Good ole' Nate knows his big men, and much like I argued with Patrick Ewing, I'm intrigued about how refined a player Bismack Biyombo (maybe, if Charlotte is lucky, Nerlens Noel?) could develop under his watchful eye.

There's no point in denying how valuable his experience is either. Broken-record-style, big-name coaches aren't going to jump at the opportunity for this position. I could see McMillan as being an exception.

One who the Bobcats should pursue. Relentlessly. 

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