Scratch Nelson Jr. Off The Replacements List

[wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Nelson Sr. would be available methinks, if Riley ends up with the Mavs...

Mavericks Notes
Donnie not after Celtics position
By Dwain Price
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
	
SEATTLE - Mavericks assistant coach Donnie Nelson said he has no interest in becoming the next coach of the Boston Celtics.
Celtics coach Jim O'Brien stunned the league Tuesday when he handed his resignation to Danny Ainge, the team's executive director of basketball operations. But Nelson, an assistant on Ainge's coaching staff in Phoenix for parts of the 1996-97 and '97-98 seasons, said no job in the NBA intrigues him like the one he has.
"I'm not looking for reasons to leave Dallas," said Nelson, who also doubles as the Mavericks' president of basketball operations. "I'm looking for reasons to stay.
"Please don't make me change area codes or zip codes. I'm a happy camper right here."
O'Brien's exit means all 15 teams in the Eastern Conference have changed coaches since the start of the 2002-03 season.
Mavs coach Don Nelson, himself on the hot seat a mere two weeks ago, said he was "shocked" O'Brien resigned. He added that he can't recall the coaching profession ever taking such a beating during his 42 years as a player or coach.
"I don't remember anything this traumatic," Don Nelson said. "It's a hard place to make a living."
Mavs assistant coach Del Harris believes NBA owners are making grave mistakes by changing coaches so easily. Harris said stability is a sure-fire way to get an organization headed in the right direction.
"The irony of it is for all the shifting around, the teams that have done best are the ones that don't shift around," Harris said. "If you can divorce your parents every time you get upset with them, kids would have no parents."
With O'Brien gone, Atlanta's Terry Stotts has the longest tenure of any coach in the Eastern Conference. And he wasn't hired until he became the Hawks' interim coach on Dec. 26, 2002.
Utah's Jerry Sloan has the longest tenure of any coach with one team. Sloan took over the Jazz after the 17th game of the 1988-89 season.
"What a crazy industry we work in," Donnie Nelson said. "It's an unfortunate part of our business, and it's tough, because obviously I hate to see that happen [to O'Brien]."