Sure, Now Johnson's Interested...

By Benjy Lipsman in News on May 23, 2008 7:02PM

While initially mentioned among the leading candidates for the Bulls' head coach vacancy, Avery Johnson's seeming desire to take a year off on the Mavs' dime had made him an afterthought in recent weeks, even as other top candidates landed elsewhere.

But maybe he just jumped back to the top of the list. Johnson insisted, during an ESPN radio interview, that he's more interested in the Bulls head coaching job than in taking a year off -- now that they've won the #1 pick in next month's draft.

Well, of course he is!

We can certainly understand how the stress of being an NBA coach could push a man towards wanting a sabbatical between gigs, but the Bulls job should have looked like a more attractive option to him anyway. He'd be coaching a young team with lots of talent, a popular franchise in a big market, and one with dedicated fans behind hungry for another championship. If he sat out a year, where could he find such a gig? Knowing that he'll have the best player in this year's draft on his bench would certainly be the icing on the cake!

Johnson and John Paxson are expected to speak about the job today. If Paxson thinks he's found his man, expect him to move quickly. We don't want another D'Anoni incident... and there's lots of evaluating to be done before the team decides whether to take Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose. Will Avery's background as a point guard sway the opinion toward Rose? We certainly hope so...

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