Michael Curry replaces Flip in Detroit, Terry Porter takes over the reigns in Phoenix, and Vinny Del Negro wins the Chicago coaching gig thanks to the two sweetest words in the English language. What they're saying out in the ether about the NBA coaching carousel ...

Michael Curry, Pistons

Detroit Bad Boys: "When I first heard that Michael Curry was the front-runner to replace Flip Saunders, I was less than enthused. The guy has one year of coaching experience as an assistant, surely he’s not ready to take the keys, right? But the more I thought about it, the more I talked myself into liking it, which is why I’m excited about today’s news that he’s officially been hired. As a player, Curry was frequently the least talented player on the court. There’s no way to gloss that over, he just wasn’t very good. But not only did he enjoy a solid career, he also made himself indispensable with defense, hustle and leadership. He served as captain for both the Pistons and the Raptors and even served as President of the NBA Players Association, commanding the respect and trust of his more talented peers."

Commenter "The Fluidics" at Need4Sheed: "Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. If you get a promotion in the Service, you are moved to a different unit. If you get promoted from hourly to salary, they move you to a different location. Why on earth would Joe hire a one year assistant to be the head coach of a team that already doesn't listen to their coaches, one of whom is Curry? I trust Joe on player moves, he's been rubbish on coaches. A veteran team needs a veteran coach whom can command respect. This leads me to believe that a lot of veterans will not be back next season. That means Chauncey, Sheed, maybe Tay. Get ready for a 40 win season, because it's June, the '08 finals are still going on, and 2009 has already started on the wrong foot."

NBA Obsessed: "Not in my wildest imagination would it seem that Joe Dumars would hand the reins over to an unproven coach. In Joe D we trust, but this is to the extreme. [...] Curry coached 1 year as an assistant under Flip Saunders. He also coached at … well, nowhere, none, nunca, nada. In Joe D we trust, just keep saying it."

Doug Smith, The Star: "No-brainer, saw it coming weeks ago, nobody’s surprised at all. And I’m sure he’ll do a good job. You watch any Pistons game from this past season and when the players have a question during a game, it’s usually Curry they talk to. The way he works out the backups before every game — a full shooting practice — was a big reason Detroit’s bench got so good so quick."

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Terry Porter, Suns

AZ Sports Hub: "Steve Kerr wanted Rick Adelman, whom he considers the best in the business and quoted the fact that Porter (and himself) have had some experience under Coach Adelman as a reason why Terry was chosen as the new coach of the Suns. Most of all, let’s just make it clear: Steve Kerr is the real head coach of the Suns while Terry Porter will be paid to be his man on the bench. At least that’s what I understood from watching a humble and shy Terry Porter saying very few words, while it was Steve Kerr giving the answers. I might be wrong, of course."

Bright Side of the Sun: "Terry Porter now takes over a team in flux. Stacked with aging stars, young talent and an incredible enigma entering his prime. He seems to recognize the team's flaws and is confident that with a few more pieces and roster tweaks the Suns will be right back in the mix. I would expect nothing less from the guy. What else can he say? Fortunately for Porter, the bar has been lowered. The Suns will enter the next season for the first time in four seasons on no one's list of potential champions let alone picked as division winners. That provides the golden opportunity for a better then expected result and also gives Porter the freedom to fail — something D'Antoni hasn't felt in a long time. So welcome Fluxball to Phoenix — where the organization has no choice but to double down on the Big Gamble and can realistically end the season as a 2nd seed or in the lottery."

Black Jesus Disciples: "Terry Porter's introductory press conference just finished up and while nothing particularly newsworthy or groundbreaking occurred, the new Suns coach said all the right things and impressed me. He consistently discussed defense and the importance of having a philosophy, an identity, and "plays you live by" on that side of the ball. Porter also touched upon the importance of a solid bench and guys a coach can count on over the course of an 82 game season. One gets the feeling if Porter and D'Antoni were in the same room together they would resist each other as like poles of magnets do."

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Vinny Del Negro, Bulls

Blog-a-Bull: "In some respects there's nothing wrong with jumping off the carousel of retreads, and go for no experience over bad experience. I thought that Flip was more than a retread, and Casey deserved a second chance. But each candidate had red flags, Collins more than a couple, and in some ways it's good to not get hung up on somebody's previous jobs and their respective offensive/defensive efficiencies and pace. But it's also a major risk, and at least for some of my fears to be assuaged Vinny Del Negro will have to deliver a heck of a press conference. Not that his words will matter that much if they aren't (or are) implemented, but as an extension of the interview with Paxson it'll be interesting to hear what 'basketball philosophies' Paxson 'connected' with to start building sandcastles together. (Or hire as his coach. Sorry, I forgot what Paxson search was all about for a second...)"

The Postmen: "No one knows, apparently except John Paxson and Jerry Reinsdorf and Del Negro himself. The one thing we do know about Del Negro is that he’s never coached anywhere before. He has literally no experience. Since he was promoted from his radio gig in Phoenix, he’s always been a front-office guy. So instead of hiring him as an assistant, or as a special advisor to the general manager, the Bulls make him the head coach. That sounds about right."

Docksquad Sports: "To me, if the Bulls were going to wait this long to hire someone, they should have at least just waited another two weeks to interview Boston's Tom Thibodeau, right? Or if they were going to go with someone with no coaching experience at all, like Vinny, at least bring in former Knicks player Mark Jackson for an interview, right? If they were just choosing from the best possible candidates out there, at least bring in Avery Johnson and Jeff Van Gundy to hear what they have to say, right? Those are just some of the things us Bulls fans would have done in regards to this coaching position, but I guess Bulls Brass disagrees. [Del Negro] must really be great in interviews I guess, because I would never hire someone with no experience."

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