Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Ira Winderman column: Front office changes spur six early firings.(Column)

Byline: Ira Winderman

Dec. 20--A weekly look at five talking points that have the league buzzing: 1. Divided they fall. The common bond amid the dismissals of six NBA coaches? They weren't necessarily the coaches of choice.

Sam Mitchell arrived in Toronto before Bryan Colangelo, ditto for Mo Cheeks and his Philadelphia boss Ed Stefanski. Then there's Reggie Theus, who wasn't even the first choice of Kings ownership, which thought it was hours away from landing Stan Van Gundy two years ago. In fact, three of the six replacements have come down from front offices: Kevin McHale in Minnesota, Ed Tapscott in Washington and Tony DiLeo in Philadelphia. It is why no one questions the status of Erik Spoelstra. He is, after all, Pat Riley's handpicked successor. As extraordinary as it is to say, the team that may actually have gotten it right with its shuffling is New York, by adding Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni together, as a make-or-break, unified ticket. 2. …