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The Lowe down Atlanta interested in Timberwolves assistant coach
Posted: Monday May 08, 2000 02:40 PM
NBA insider Stephen A. Smith of The Philadelphia Inquirer chatted about the comings and goings on in the league with Bob Lorenz on CNN/Sports Illustrated's This Week in the NBA. Bob Lorenz: Stephen, you expect the Atlanta Hawks to fill their head coaching vacancy sometime this week. Who is their man going to be? Stephen A. Smith: The Atlanta Hawks are expected to make a decision by the end of this week or early into next week. I hear that Sidney Lowe, the assistant coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, had an exceptional interview with the Hawks. But at the same time, Atlanta is desperately seeking a big-name coach, which obviously brings Isiah Thomas' name back into the mix. Thomas still has to handle that conflict of interest situation with the CBA, but assuming that he can do that, he may very well be the next head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. Bob Lorenz: Some thought that Paul Westphal's job was on the line if the Seattle SuperSonics made a first-round exit, which they did, so is he in trouble? Stephen A. Smith: Right now it appears that that isn't the case, even though before these playoffs Westphal's job was definitely in jeopardy. And after the first two games, his job was certainly in jeopardy regardless of what everybody in Seattle was saying. The Sonics, however, had a very good showing in Games 3 and 4 in Seattle. Then they went to Utah in Game 5 and played exceptionally well, played the kind of defense that epitomizes Westphal's efforts and that may have actually given him some support to save his job. Bob Lorenz: We have heard for a while the impending front office changes with the Grizzlies, what's the latest there? Stephen A. Smith: What I am hearing is that Billy Knight, the senior vice-president of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers, is very close to inking a deal to become the next general manager of the Vancouver Grizzlies. But then if you look at the situation, everything is up in the air. Dick Versace is supposed to be taking over, yet he is recommending guys for the job he was supposed to be doing. He went to Phoenix and Portsmouth to scout college athletes but there were two different teams -- he had his own scouting team and Stu Jackson had his own scouting team. The two of them haven't even talked to each other. The whole situation seems to be up in the air -- nobody knows what is going on. But I can tell you that Billy Knight was not in Indiana this weekend; he was in Vancouver and it looks like he will be the next GM of the Vancouver Grizzlies. Stephen A. Smith covers the NBA for The Philadelphia Inquirer and is a frequent contributor to CNNSI.com.
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