What's in a name? Everything.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

Byline: Ethan J. Skolnick

The Detroit Pistons officially name their coach today. Or, more to the point, the Pistons get their name coach.

Rick Carlisle was out late Friday night, despite two straight 50-win seasons and one Coach of the Year award to start his NBA coaching career after inheriting a non-playoff team that had traded Grant Hill. He was out despite taking a modestly-talented but defensively-drilled squad to the East finals, outmaneuvering a listless Larry Brown during the conference semifinals in the process.

Naturally, Larry Brown is in, because he's Larry Brown.

OK, maybe politics played a part too. Carlisle reportedly clashed with owner Tom Wilson and Joe Dumars, the former standout Detroit player who has, until now, had a standout start to his executive stint. Carlisle confused some Pistons with his playoff rotations, though some of the confusion was created when he smartly began running offense for rookie Tayshaun Prince, a wrinkle against which Brown's 76ers did not adequately adjust.

But in a larger sense, this move, like many coaching changes, is about the name game. About Brown, a renowned teacher, being available, having tired of six years of trying to get Allen Iverson to come to "practice?! We're talking about practice?!" About getting a coach you think can take you to an NBA title, though Brown never has.

Once you have a name, it seems you never lose it. We've seen that here. After Rudy Tomjanovich, who beat Pat Riley in the 1994 Finals, resigned under pressure in Houston to create one of eight offseason coaching openings, Riley became the second-longest tenured NBA coach with a single team. Only Utah's Jerry Sloan beats him.