ready to call Larry Brown their top choice to replace Rudy Tomjanovich as coach. But they wasted no time treating him like he is.

Less than 24 hours after Brown became a free-agent coach, Rockets owner Leslie Alexander and general manager Carroll Dawson met with Brown and his wife, Shelly, on Tuesday in New York.

"I want to sit back with Shelly, L.J. (his son) and Madison (his daughter) and figure this out," Brown said Tuesday without commenting about the meeting itself. "I really want to coach and go to a situation where I think I can make a difference. We'll just have to wait and see."

Brown has compiled the seventh-most wins in NBA history in stints with the Nuggets, Clippers, Spurs, Nets, Pacers and 76ers. But he might not be the winningest coach on the Rockets' list.

Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson also has expressed interest in the position, a source said Tuesday. With the Mavs still in the playoffs, there has not been any contact between the Rockets and Nelson or his representatives. But Nelson is in the last season of his coaching contract in Dallas.

Coaching lifer Larry Brown, known for rebuilding franchises and moving to the next challenge, resigned from his job with Philadelphia Monday.

His departure means that almost one-fourth of the NBA's 29 head-coaching jobs now are vacant. Within the week, the Washington Wizards are expected to fire Doug Collins, and then there would be eight available.

The league is set for one crazy summer of turnover, and in the process, even Orlando might feel the effects.

Speculation again has Magic Coach Doc Rivers as a candidate for a new job. The Houston Chronicle reported Monday that the Rockets, searching for a successor to Rudy Tomjanovich, might call Rivers. The Rockets are first expected to flirt with veteran candidates Mike Dunleavy, Jeff Van Gundy and Brown, but if those attempts fail, they would be interested in Rivers, a young, rising coach.

The Rockets began their search for a successor to coach Rudy Tomjanovich in Dallas by reaching out toward Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Dunleavy, sources close to the search said Sunday.

The initial calls might not indicate priorities, because the Rockets have not received permission to talk with other coaches under contract. But they received permission from the Knicks to speak with Van Gundy, who is under contract with New York until July 31. The Rockets also made calls to set up an interview with Dunleavy.

"I haven't met with him yet. He's been pretty busy," Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said of Van Gundy. "We haven't had a chance to sit down and talk with him. We're in no hurry. We haven't really established a timetable for this (filling the vacancy). We're just starting this.

"Everybody else seems more anxious than we are to get this thing going. We (Dawson and owner Leslie Alexander) are going to talk about everything before we meet with anyone. ... We haven't had time to sit down and discuss anything yet. When we talk, then we're going to get to work."

Don't think the Orlando Magic are content to sit at No. 15 in the NBA draft, select the best point guard left and declare their problems at that position solved.

Don't even assume that the draft is their only avenue to acquire an exciting, young playmaker.

Between now and training camp, the Magic will be thorough in selecting a player, or players, to address their most important need.

The "LeBron Lottery" will end tonight, on national TV, in prime time.

If you thought the hype already was tremendous, wait until some certainty is injected in the process (8 p.m., ABC, WFTV-Ch. 9).

By the end of the night, the team lucky enough to get the first pick in the NBA draft -- and James, the high school prodigy from Akron, Ohio -- will be extremely happy. The teams with the Nos. 2 and 3 picks June 26 will be moderately happy, because Syracuse freshman forward Carmelo Anthony and 17-year-old Serbian 7-footer Darko Milicic are considered top prospects, too.

For the other 26 teams, prayer would be an acceptable reaction.

Former Hornets assistant coach Brian Hill, hoping to once again become an NBA head coach, interviewed for nearly three hours with Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Bob Bass on Monday.

Bass and Hill said the session went well. Bass said he wouldn't rule out the possibility of conducting a second round of interviews with the three candidates in line to replace Paul Silas, whose contract was not renewed.

"It went on great; we had a great conversation I can't expound on," Bass said after the interview at the team's Alario Center practice facility. "We've interviewed three guys now. I feel like we may talk to all the candidates again, maybe one or two, or all three of them."

Billy Knight is guaranteed two things: another year's salary from the Hawks and an expenses-paid trip to Secaucus, home of Thursday's NBA draft lottery for the right to draft LeBron James and supplement his $75 million contract with Reebok (give or take an insole).

Can't speak for Knight's karma, however. His positions (director of basketball operations/interim general manager) could disappear after David McDavid closes escrow. He doesn't believe in lucky charms or horoscopes. And the Hawks haven't exactly been Mojo Central.

So what's the chance the Hawks will land the first, second or third selection in the draft? In order: 2.9, 3.37 and 4.02 percent. To compute it another way, there's an 89.71 percent chance they draw something lower than the third pick and have to surrender it to Milwaukee to complete the franchise-defining Glenn Robinson trade.

Winning the lottery, Knight said, "Certainly would add a level of interest. But I can't quantify it. This isn't something you can plan on or design. If it happens, it happens. But it happened twice for Orlando."

Un less the Mavericks thoroughly disgrace themselves against the Spurs, we'll probably never be able to confirm what evil lurks in the heart of Mark Cuban regarding Don Nelson's coaching future in Dallas.

According to educated speculation, coming into the playoffs, the bizarre billionaire was prepared to make a powerful play (let your imagination be your guide) for Heat minority owner/president/coach Pat Riley, had his Mavs mortifyingly malfunctioned - as was almost the case against the Blazers who nearly became the first team in NBA history to overcome an 0-3 deficit.

Winning a pair of Game 7s appears to have gotten Nelson off the shadowy ledge, but an implosion in this series could radically reverse that perception. Trust me, Nelson isn't faintly confident he has won Cuban's bludgeon of approval and remains knotted in a discomfort zone. Offers a friend, "Don deeply senses he's still being tested and that he can't do enough."

Conjecture is not an issue concerning the Cavaliers and whom Gordon Gund has identified as the principal candidates for his team's coaching job. Those in the know pinpoint Jeff Van Gundy (already interviewed) and Paul Silas (a meeting is planned before Thursday's lottery drawing) as the two people. "It's their job to turn down," says the informant, intimating Van Gundy is first choice.

"Stats are like a bikini. They show some things, but they don't show it all."-- Kansas University point guard Kirk Hinrich

That unique visual, seen through the eyes of the former Jayhawk star, sums up just how difficult it can be to evaluate the worth of a point guard.

There are certainly tangible categories in the evaluation process, ranging from assists, to steals, to turnover margin, to 3-point shooting percentage.

But so much of what point guards do can't be measured in numbers alone. Valuable factors such as leadership, patience, passing and poise often get slighted when playing a simple numbers game.

With their three-year reign as NBA champions having come to an end, the Los Angeles Lakers are vowing to make changes. David Falk, the agent for forward Juwan Howard, believes signing his client as a free agent might be a good start.

"The Lakers would be a great situation for him," Falk told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday for an article published Sunday.

"Not the only situation, but a great one. (The Lakers) have to cross some bridges first. Having lost, they need to evaluate."

Howard becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1 after playing the past 1 ? seasons for the Denver Nuggets. He will be free to sign with any NBA team beginning July 16.