Good luck, Chuck!

In 1988, my NBA allegiance was still mostly with Philadelphia and was gradually shifting to the Chicago Bulls. All my friends were either Lakers, Celtics or Bulls fans. And come playoff time when the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls met, I told my friends (we saw all the games at a friend's house in Fairview because he had FEN) that I thought Bad Boys would skewer the Bulls. They looked at me in horror and began to take shots.

I said they'd win then only because I thought their time had come and the Bulls would pass them up (never mind if the Cleveland Cavaliers were a rising force in the East). My friends acknowledged the talent of the Pistons but jeered and made fun of Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn, and John Salley. They grudgingly admitted the all-world talent of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, and Vinnie Johnson who had one of the most original nicknames in "the Microwave."

I also did say that they would win because of Chuck Daly who was played a pivotal role in getting this team to win. How he tamed Dennis Rodman was huge for this team. They way he diffused the situation where Thomas and the Worm made disparaging remarks about Larry Bird showed that he was behind his team no matter what.

The Pistons did beat the Bulls and after losing to the Lakers in the Finals got back and won consecutive titles. And he was asked to coach the one and only Dream Team. There were quarters in USA Basketball that wanted to give the honor to a college coach but really, their time was done. You want an all-pro team, get an all-pro coach (Coach K disputed this when he led the Redeem Team to gold in Beijing).

Chuck getting the job at Barcelona said a lot. He might have not won the Coach of the Year Award but he was the first coach to win an NBA title and an Olympic Gold.

Any more doubters should have shut their holes when he led New Jersey to the playoffs for two years with a disfunctional crew (Kenny & DC) and later briefly handling the young Orlando Magic.

I thought too that Daly and Pat Riley made the NBA coaching profession glamorous with their suits and hairstyles.

The fact that the NBA made up a special award for him -- the Chuck Daly Lifetime Award for those who make special contributions to the sport - again says a lot about the man and as a coach.

He may have lost his battle to cancer here but that only means he's been elevated to another place where he gets to do some coaching again.

And as I said with a touch of heresy for Bulls fans in 1988, I think he'd get the job done.

Good luck, Chuck.