Stemming from a tough loss last night Mike D’Antoni may have let his nerves get to him just a tad…

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, D’Antoni — who took himself out of the running for the Bulls coaching job that eventually went to Vinny Del Negro — said helming an NBA team is tougher than it looks.

“I don’t care who you got or what team you have, it’s very precarious and it’s a fine line,” D’Antoni said. “To perform well in this league, there’s a lot of psychological stuff that a coach has control [over] and doesn’t have control [over].”

Essentially D’Antoni admitted that being a coach in this league is not an easy job.  I think all of us kind of knew that but there are many people out there that say they could easily coach an NBA team.   Sorry folks, managing a bunch of 25 year old millionaires is not that easy, nor will it ever be.

But some jobs are certainly easier than others.  Using certain criteria like quality of the team, demands of the owner/management/city, and “intangibles” I’ve come up with a list of the 5 easiest and toughest coaching jobs in the NBA.

The Five Toughest

New York Knicks

Bottom line we’re talking about New York here.  This is combo of ownership, team quality, and the most demanding fans I’ve ever witnessed.  Following Isiah?  I don’t wish this job on anyone.  And clearly D’Antoni has got his hands full.  Since Patrick left the team, the Knicks are simply mediocre and have a payroll that may never end.   I think D’Antoni will get this ship righted and we’ll see good evidence of that next year.  This year there are sparks but I’m not sure we’ll fully see it.

Los Angeles Lakers

Most of you are probably thinking this is the easiest team to coach in the NBA.  And granted the caliber of the team would make it seem so, however think of the Lakers like the Yankees.  They will settle for nothing less than a championship and that makes this job very stressful.  Nobody handles star players better than Phil Jackson.  Put any other guy there and I’ll bet you’d be surprised because I don’t think the Lakers would win it all.  Hey, they didn’t do it with Shaq and Kobe without Jackson did they?  Nope.

Miami Heat

Having Pat Riley breathing down your neck every two seconds saying “I can coach this team better than you can” every two seconds?  No thanks.

Dallas Mavericks

Cuban is another obsessive owner.  Sure he might get his players X Boxes in their lockers but that doesn’t mean he isn’t an obsessed maniac.  And it all starts with the coach.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Carlisle axed if they don’t do very well the rest of the way.

Minnesota

Of all the crap teams in the NBA I feel like Minnesota’s brass actually cares about having a decent team so for years on end to be this shitty has got to be taking its toll.  And to coach a team like this is NOT fun.   Yeah I could say the Nets here too.  Or even Memphis.  But I’m going with Minnesota.

The Five Easiest

Los Angeles Clippers

Have the Clippers ever cared about being a decent team?  Ever?  Yeah they’ll go through coaches like water but come on guys.  When you’re the red headed step child to the Lakers you kind of give up at some point.  I don’t think the Clippers ever even started.

Cleveland Cavaliers

This all rests squarely on Lebron deciding to become the best basketball player in the world and I doubt much on coaching.  Granted I think a guy like Phil Jackson could come in and transform James in about two seconds but since that will never happen coaches will come and go in Cleveland. and I don’t think that coaching job is hard at all.   Pretty certain if I coached that team they’d have the same record.  Have fun Mr. Brown once Lebron leaves.

Boston Celtics

Of all the teams in the NBA that mesh well and play together as a team I’d say the Celtics are at the top of the list meaning they’re very used to each other by now and I don’t think a coach has to do that much with this team.  One could argue that the C’s are like the Lakers but I just don’t feel like the expectations are the same as Los Angeles.  They are for the Red Sox and Patriots.  I’m not so sure the C’s.  Plus they won that championship two years ago and it still feels good over there.

Golden State Warriors

Total shit show.  It’s like running a bunch of detention morons and you don’t even care if they show or not.

Charlotte Bobcats

Just go gambling with Michael Jordan and call it a day.