Larry Brown to Coach Memphis... If They Land Oden

Larry Brown's peculiar 2007 is starting to make sense. When he took a consulting job with Philadelphia last winter, we all assumed he was sliding into place to take over the Sixers bench this fall. Philly had traded away Allen Iverson and all indications showed the Sixers to be the leaders in the Greg Oden sweepstakes.

But Philly got good behind Andre Miller and an untethered Andre Iguodala, and it's unlikely Billy King will get a draft choice before 10 picks have been made. Near the end of the season, King announced Maurice Cheeks would stay on the bench next year and Larry Brown generally disassociated himself from Philadelphia.

As the Sixers 'slid' into respectability, Memphis maintained its chokehold on the Oden pole position. Fancy that Brown's name immediately got connected to the open Grizzlies job, then, at season's end. Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News posits this theory:

Brown is interested in the job, but is waiting until May 22 to see if the Grizzlies hit the jackpot by winning the draft lottery for Ohio State center Greg Oden. If they don't get the top pick, Brown will probably remove his name from consideration.

If the premonition is correct, it would support the longheld the belief that Larry Brown's greatest quest in life is be told he's a genius. A 'magical resurrection' with one of the best big man duo's in the league would do the trick.