With Ryan Blackwell out of the picture, will the Osaka Evessa hire an experienced, big name coach or hand the reins to another rookie bench boss? Or will the team simply hire from within and promote Blackwell's assistant, 33-year-old Keisuke Hirose, to the top spot?
Blackwell, who brought a defensive-first approach to the job, is the bj-league's first official coaching casualty of the offseason.
Expect several other teams to make a change in the coming weeks; after all, contracts for the 2011-12 season expired on Thursday. And some teams will be smart to hire replacements before the June 18 draft, giving general managers and new coaches a chance to shape team's rosters well in advance of next season.