The (really) old guard

Slightly more than a month since the Cavaliers season ended with a thud, and the team is still without a coach or general manager.
That wouldn't be such a big deal, except the rumors of who owner Dan Gilbert is chasing to fill those roles are becoming more and more outlandish.
The rumors started with realistic names, young up-and-comers in NBA front offices, like Indiana's David Morway and Denver's Jeff Weltman. Head coach candidates included Flip Saunders and Eric Musselman.
Then Gilbert had to go wooing Phil Jackson, and since then, he seems set on reeling in the biggest name he can get his hands on.
The Jackson rumors gave way to rumors that 74-year-old Chuck Daly was to become the next head coach of the Cavs. This week, the hot rumor has Gilbert chasing 64-year-old Pistons coach Larry Brown to be his new general manager.
When did Gilbert decide the cast of "On Golden Pond" would make a good NBA front office?
In the event Daly and Brown both wind up with the Cavs, golf lockers should be installed near the executive entrance at Gund Arena, and representatives for Viagra and Cialis should be notified for the sake of promotional deals.
Seriously, what would hiring people eligible for senior discounts at Bob Evans do for the Cavs? At the press conference to introduce Daly and Brown, Gilbert would be in his own Utopia: the coaches responsible for all three Pistons titles, and all four of their NBA Finals appearances to date, would be under his umbrella.
In case you didn't know yet, Gilbert is a Detroit-area native and resident, and an avid Pistons fan. His company, Rock Financial, is one of the Pistons' biggest sponsors.
While Gilbert was busy talking of the foundation being laid for a great championship run, Daly would be checking his pulse, wondering if his heart could take the stress of another season coaching in the NBA, something he hasn't done since 1999.
Brown, who never stays anywhere for very long, would probably be wondering if the Lakers coaching job will be open next summer, once Jackson and Kobe Bryant discover that, yes, they really do hate each other's guts.
If that arrangement were to happen, I'd be shocked if it last more than one season. Stunned. My jaw would go through the floor, even if the marriage resulted in a 55-win season and a deep playoff run for the Cavs in '06.
Brown and Daly have both been to the top. Daly has two NBA titles and a gold medal in the Olympics as a coach. Brown has an NCAA title, an NBA title, and (ahem) a bronze medal in the Olympics as a coach.
(You remember that bronze medal, right, LeBron? The one you won for sitting on the bench per Brown's orders?)
I find it hard to believe Daly and Brown would bring the enthusiasm and energy needed to put the Cavs in the top echelon of NBA teams. At the first sign of adversity, the instant the job is no longer fun and the ego-stroking stops, I would expect Brown and/or Daly to start looking for a way out. Nether one has much left to prove. They are both bona fide basketball gurus. A bad experience in Cleveland at the tail end of their careers probably wouldn't do much to damage their reputations. The media pundits would chalk it up to being over the hill, much like they did with Lenny Wilkens' disastrous tenure with the Knicks.
The one thing Brown or Daly could do is court a capable successor to groom, which Gilbert should demand they do upon accepting the job.
This off-season is a critical one for the Cavaliers. Critical for Dan Gilbert, too, but if Gilbert makes the star-struck decision in hiring a coach or general manager instead of the smart one, he gets pegged as a fantasy-league fan who just happens to be rich enough to afford his own team. He can still go home to his billion-dollar Internet loan corporation and feel like a success.
If Gilbert makes lousy decisions this summer and LeBron James leaves in couple of years, we in Cleveland are the ones left holding the bag. Again.