A spinning carousel _ and Riles is getting off

Donnie Walsh's quest for a new head coach grows curioser and curioser by the day in the Knicks' Wonderland, with a variety of possible developments potentially creating a domino effect that could either draw the process to a quick close or drag it out.

Let's first note that Pat Riley announced he's done coaching the Heat at a Monday afternoon news conference _ not via fax.

That's big of him.

He named 37-yeard-old Erik Spoelstra as his replacement _ and, no, he isn't coming back to New York. Why would he when he can still play team president with a healthy Dwyane Wade (let's hope the talk about D-Wade dating Star Jones, who's 20 years older, is just tabloid pap before we wretch), plus Shawn Marion, Udonis Haslem and a lottery pick to get the Heat back in the postseason next year?

Now, Mark Jackson.

We know Walsh flew to Phoenix to talk with him over the weekend. We also know, as we write this, that the Knicks HAVE NOT called a press conference to officially ordain him the next coach.

Now we also know that Jackson and the Bulls plan to discuss their opening, according to Monday's Chicago Tribune, although Rick Carlisle is consider the leader in that competition.

One theory: Walsh is doing his due diligence and doesn't want to hire Jackson without exploring other options, perhaps ones that develop after the first round of the playoffs (i.e. Flip Saunders, Avery Johnson, Sam Mitchell, George Karl).

Another theory: Jackson may have lost some of his grip on the job that was presumed to be his to lose.

One final theory: If Walsh really wants Jackson, he may have to hurry, because all things being equal, does Jackson feel the pull of New York or that of a far closer-to-contention Bulls team?

As for the potential alternatives:

If Johnson gets whacked, it'll be for going one-and-done (presuming the Hornets polish off the Mavs) for a second straight postseason after his team blew the 2006 Finals.

Saunders could go if his Pistons fall short of matching Larry Brown's championship in Detroit or at least the NBA finals.

A weekend report out of Denver indicated Karl is safe for now, but when the Lakers finish off the Nuggets, something's going to blow with that franchise and it still could be him.

Do the Knicks need an underachieving retread?

Mitchell, meanwhile, was on the ropes before last season, then became 2007 Coach of the Year, but now has presumably underachieved again. He has an old Indiana relationship with Walsh _ but our theory is if he does land in NYC, he could come as the assistant with head-coaching experience that Walsh would require if Jackson gets the big job.

We do know, though, that as this is written Monday, the Knicks still haven't asked the Celtics for permission to talk to their defense-first assistant (and former Jeff Van Gundy guy) Tom Thibodeau.

That gives us some pause as to how much due diligence is really being done.

As for the Kenny Smith-as-GM discussion, Smith from broadcast studio to second-in-command isn't much different than Jackson going from broadcasting to bench _ and he doesn't have Jackson's cachet.

Which doesn't make either move wrong, because stepping outside the box may be preferable to going the retread route.

Some readers have written that Isiah Thomas was an out-of-the-box move, but don't forget how he ran Toronto when it entered the league and, of course, also coached in Indiana.

A part of us, too, watching the Pistons in Sunday's first half before they rallied to win, actually thought, "Gee, maybe if Detroit fires Flip, Joe Dumars will hire Isiah as his next coach."

Although it's one of the few places where Isiah would be welcomed, one large obstacle would almost certainly prevent that: His tepid relationship with owner Bill Davidson, who didn't like Isiah's public campaign to take over the team after he retired.

Just thought we'd throw that out there, though.

And while we're throwing out old Knicks' coaches, if Brown gets the Charlotte job we figured he'd get a year ago, there's little doubt he'll snatch away Dave Hanners, one of the assistants he brought to the Knicks.

Hanners did a lot of the Knicks' game-planning last season that rarely translated through Thomas onto the floor. And if you want to say that's a function of Hanners not being a Thomas guy, feel free.

We're full of theories today.