Carlisle is a smart guy, but hiring him sure isn't

Hiring Rick Carlisle because he is the least flawed of all the head coaching candidates is not something I particularly oppose. That approach has worked quite well for a number of my very good friends, who are married in part because their wives simply could not find anyone better.

It does seem, however, that if the Mavericks were going to conduct a thorough search, it would have made sense to play the field a little. Instead, they divorced one coach and without even glancing at available talent, they immediately proposed to his twin.

If one of the local TV sports shows wants to have a little fun, tapes of Carlisle roaming the sidelines while coaching the Pacers should be played on a half screen next to Avery Johnson doing the same thing with the Mavericks. I would be willing to bet they could even synchronize each man holding up certain fingers for certain plays.

If Carlisle is so structured, however, how in the world did he convince Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson that he could coach a team that has clearly proven it cannot flourish in that system?

The answer is actually a good one. A guy who used to work with Carlisle put it this way:

"The thing about Rick is that he's really smart. I'm talking about an intellectual sort of smart. You can sometimes say something to Rick, and he'll look at you like you're from another planet because he thinks what you said is stupid. He's not rude about it, but he just gives you a look because intellectually, what you said is below him."

Being smart is good. And that, say others who know Carlisle, is how he managed to convince Cuban and Nelson that he can run an up-tempo offense.

"He is a smart guy," said a coach who knows Carlisle. "I'm sure he told them exactly what they wanted to hear."

Carlisle will inherit a situation that is more desperate than the Mavericks have had in many years. Their window of opportunity has been reduced to a small crack -- exactly one year. That's how long Jason Kidd, who will turn 36 during next season, has left on his contract.

For the Mavericks to compete in the Western Conference next year -- and I'm talking only about being competitive enough to be a long shot to win a title -- Jason Kidd has to be at his Jason Kidd best. And whoever coaches him has to mimic Byron Scott.

During the Hornets-Mavericks series, Chris Paul said he sometimes looked over at Scott to see if the coach wanted to run a certain play, and Scott simply waved him on, which indicated that Paul should make his own choice.

That's how Carlisle needs to coach Kidd. He needs to remain in his chair and keep his fingers to himself.

There is little in his past that indicates he can do that.

The Mavericks have received many good media suggestions for head coach. Donnie Nelson would be great. Paul Westphal would be better than Carlisle. Even waiting to see if Flip Saunders gets fired in Detroit would be worthwhile and Mavericks insiders say that if Cuban and Nelson had their druthers, Saunders would be the next head coach.

But there is no guarantee that he will be fired or even that he would take the Dallas job. And by the time the Mavericks would find out, then Carlisle could already be somewhere else.

So what? If that happened, I would bring Del Harris back for one year. Yes, I know, Harris is 70 and has taken himself out of the running. But he has coached great offensive players such as Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles. He knows the current team, and if the one-year window closed, then the Mavericks could survey the landscape next season and hire the younger coach to oversee the rebuilding process.

At this point, however, all suggestions will be ignored. The Mavericks will hire Rick Carlisle and it will not be a popular choice. In fact, it will be the most uninspired choice for a local coach or manager since, well, either Wade Phillips or Ron Washington. Take your pick.

I do feel a little sorry for Carlisle. Can you imagine coming to a team where the media and fans say, "Welcome to Dallas, Rick. We'd like to have anybody but you."

But, who knows? Maybe it will work out. My sister once dated a guy for a month and shocked us all by announcing her wedding. That was 42 years ago, and they're still married. I guess quick courtships can sometimes work out.