Bobcats pursuing Brown? Not yet ...

      I checked in with Mike Preston, the Philadelphia 76ers’ public relations director, to see if the Charlotte Bobcats requested permission to interview Larry Brown for the coaching opening.

    Preston said the Memphis Grizzlies are, so far, the only NBA team that requested permission. Brown, currently holding a role in the Sixers’ front office, is reportedly interviewing with the Grizzlies today (Thursday).

    That the Bobcats haven’t yet done this doesn’t surprise me, and doesn’t make me think Brown is off their radar screen. It does confirm something I anticipated: that the Bobcats’ coaching search will be a deliberate process.

    That’s as it should be.

      What’s the rush? Brown and former Charlotte Hornets coach Paul Silas are available now, but many of the league’s top assistants are working during the playoffs, and effectively off-limits for job interviews.

        Also, if the Bobcats want to make a run at Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell (NBA coach of the year and briefly a Bobcats assistant), they’d have to wait at least until the Raptors’ playoff run ends and more likely into the summer when Mitchell’s contract expires.

         We increasingly live in a microwave society where people think if something isn’t done right this instant, then the process is flawed. I’d rather see the Bobcats play out too many options than play out too few, in choosing Bernie Bickerstaff’s successor.

    

  Lewis might opt for loyalty

      

On a completely separate note, The Tacoma News-Tribune quotes Rashard Lewis as saying he'd give his current team, the Seattle Supersonics, the opportunity to match any other team's offer for him. Lewis isn't obligated to take that approach, since he'd be an unrestricted free agent when he opts out of his contract.

       That says to me Lewis' strong preference is to remain a Sonic, and that he's opting out only to pursue more money. That's fine, but I would think that would temper any interest the Bobcats might have in signing him. Do you want to make a huge financial commitment to someone clearly predisposed to staying with his old club? Seems like the only thing the Bobcats would do is raise the price the Sonics would pay.