Over the past 2½ years, or since Issel came back in from the cold to run
this moribund team, he has distinguished himself in one notable area: he may the
only NBA executive who has made more bad moves than Rick Pitino. And he's made
most of those bad moves
with Pitino. That isn't easy, but Issel has
pulled it off. (Maybe that explains why Denver and Boston are uniformly
mediocre; they keep giving each other their, um, disposables.) Even worse for
him and his team, they're in the wrong place at the wrong time. Put this team in
the East now and, like the Celtics, he could dream about what it's like to be in
the playoffs.
Issel was on everyone's short list for 'First Coach Most Likely To Be
Fired' when the season began. Like Pitino, he holds the dual positions of coach
and player procurer and the latter has killed the chances of the former. Throw
in a new owner who married well (as in Wal-Mart) and wants to win, likes the
college game, and, well, you have the recipe for change, not to mention
disaster.