Vitale's opinion on the Carlisle situation - awesome, baby!

By Dick Vitale
SPECIAL TO ESPN.COM


May 31

What happened in the Motor City flat out S-T-I-N-K-S! Get out the spray deodorant, man!

It is incredible what happened to Rick Carlisle. The job he did warranted a multiyear contract extension, not a dismissal. What an absolute joke to hear he was set free.

What more do you have to do? It just shows how crazy the wacky world of coaching is. Years ago, a guy I replaced named Ray Scott made a statement that the inmates run the asylum. How right he was when he said that, and the NBA these days is insane.

Think about what is going on now with all of the coaching vacancies! The players complain, the lack of communication, the moaning and groaning ... you tell me when that stuff is not going to happen! There were so many questions over the Carlisle dismissal. You hear rumors that he wasn't flexible enough, that he team didn't do enough on the offensive end.

Give me a break. He got the Pistons to the Eastern Conference finals despite injury problems affecting guard Chauncey Billups. Detroit lacked a really dominating big player on offense, so in my mind, Carlisle did an amazing job. I can't believe that back-to-back 50-win seasons wasn't good enough.

All of the teams now can look up and say, "We can hire Larry Brown." Wow, he is a brilliant teacher, a winner and a Hall of Famer, but how many jobs can Brown take? Just one, my friends!

When I think about a Paul Silas being let go by the Hornets despite making the playoffs with injuries to Baron Davis and Jamal Mashburn for a good part of the season, it makes me wonder. When a Doug Collins is let go, a motivator and communicator who is passionate and believes in what he does, all because of the Michael Jordan situation, it is wacky.

Why would a super successful college coach want to leave for the NBA right now, even with all of these openings? Think about the big-time guys like Tubby Smith and Mike Krzyzewski; why would they ever consider going to the pros when they are the big men on campus? Maybe this sends a message loud and clear to stay put because life in the NBA is what have you done for me today.

And in the case of Carlisle, that doesn't really apply anymore because he had 100+ wins in two seasons! It's all about a gold trophy and I wonder if they would have found an excuse or alibi even if they won it all.

The good news in Detroit is that Brown is likely to land there. Still, you have to feel for Carlisle.

The ex-Pistons coach should land on his feet quickly.

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maybe he'll land in Houston (I hope.)

This may be the only time I've ever agreed with the majority of what dickie v has said.

http://espn.go.com/dickvitale/null.html