If Eddie Jordan chooses to be the Kings' next coach, indications remain strong his chances are better than the rest.
But as the Kings may soon learn, it simply isn't that simple.
While the Kings on Monday announced their intention to interview former Seattle and Phoenix coach Paul Westphal, Philadelphia announced its coaching search. And according to numerous league sources, the news that interim coach Tony DiLeo would head to the front office and create another vacancy meant one thing for the Kings: competition.
With Jordan believed to be high on the 76ers' list of candidates, the Kings will get the first chance to lure him. Eddie Jordan told the Washington Post he will meet with Kings co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof and basketball president Geoff Petrie today and Wednesday. According to a league source, Westphal will follow Jordan and be interviewed in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Where this road leads from there, however, is anybody's guess. While Jordan has publicly voiced his desire to reunite with Petrie in Sacramento – where he coached from late in the 1996-97 season (6-9) and for the entire 1997-98 campaign (27-55) before he was fired – he may also have incentive to look long and hard at what the 76ers have to offer.
Jordan – who led the Wizards to the playoffs in four of his five full seasons as their coach (2003 to 2008) but made it past the first round just once – has experienced most of his success in the Eastern Conference. He is from the East Coast, a Washington, D.C., native who played at Rutgers before spending seven seasons as an NBA role player and winning a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982.
Jordan also has ties to the 76ers. As a New Jersey assistant coach, he and Philadelphia general manager Ed Stefanski were together for five seasons with the Nets, including trips to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.
And while the Kings have the allure of a high draft pick (no lower than fourth), they are coming off the first 17-win season in franchise history just as the 76ers' 41 wins this season were their most since the 2004-05 campaign.
But beyond the face value of both situations is the matter of how much either team may be willing to pay. The Kings, according to numerous league sources, hope to land a coach in the range of $1.5 million to $2 million per season and are not likely to engage in a bidding war for long. Next season, Jordan is owed $4 million by Washington that would be offset by a new contract.
Strategically, the Kings' decision to bring Westphal and perhaps more interviewees could help them avoid a repeat of the Stan Van Gundy scenario in 2007. Before signing with Orlando that summer, Van Gundy – like Jordan – was eager to return as a head coach and unwilling to give away any possible opportunity before he had been given a job. But his extensive discussions with the Kings eventually were seen as leverage in his negotiations with Orlando, a twist that revealed the danger in allowing a candidate to pit two teams against each other.
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