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| Tuesday, December 14 | |||||
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns are talking with their former
coach, John MacLeod, about becoming an assistant to new coach Scott
Skiles.
"I think there's a good chance it will happen," Suns owner
Jerry Colangelo said before Skiles made his debut Tuesday night
when his team played the Detroit Pistons.
MacLeod, fired as coach at Notre Dame after last season,
recently moved back to the Phoenix area. He coached the Suns from
1973 to 1986 and has indicated he wants to get back to a coaching
job in the NBA. Being an assistant to the 35-year-old Skiles could
be a first step in doing just that.
"I've had a couple of conversations with John," Skiles said.
"We had a conversation a couple of days ago and I talked to him
again last night. I'm not quite sure where it stands right now, but
I'm definitely interested. He's my first choice."
Skiles was lead assistant to coach Danny Ainge for just over two
seasons. He became coach on Monday when Ainge resigned. Ainge said
he stepped down to spend more time with his wife and six children.
Colangelo denied continuing speculation that Ainge was forced
out. He said there was no financial settlement with Ainge because
it was a resignation, not a firing.
"He's not being paid," Colangelo said.
He also denied a published report that Skiles had held private
meetings with Colangelo and his son, Suns president Bryan
Colangelo, to talk about concerns about Ainge's performance. Skiles
also said there was no truth to that report.
Ainge, 40, insisted that his sole reason for leaving the job was
his belief that he was not giving his family the attention it
deserved.
The Suns' Tom Gugliotta also said there was nothing going on
behind the closed doors of the locker room to believe that Ainge
was so fed up with the team that he would quit. He said things were
not perfect, but the team was 13-7 "and we had a chance to get
better."
Colangelo emphasized that Skiles is not the interim coach.
"This is his team," Colangelo said. "This is his
opportunity."
Colangelo would not commit, however, to Skiles filling the job
beyond this season.
"We'll talk about that at the appropriate time," Colangelo
said. | ALSO SEE Ainge resigns as Suns coach; Skiles takes over Skiles brings no-nonsense approach to new job AUDIO/VIDEO Scott Skiles says the Suns will play hard. avi: 1409 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 |