I know that some coaches feel the burn of the hot seat when their team struggles, but this hypothetical situation is ridiculous. Today, I watched ESPN FirstTake, and I saw an e-mailer say "You know where Pat Riley should go coach next?" (Riley, as many of you know, retired as Heat coach for what seems like the 192nd time recently). His answer: the Detroit Pistons! He says that should light a fire under them. The question is, assuming this were possible, would it?

Riles would no doubt be stoked about coaching a legit title contender, but I wonder if the Pistons would be able to function properly with his system. With all respect to Rasheed Wallace, the one constant with Riley is that he wins with dominant, post-up centers (Kareem in L.A., Ewing in New York, Mourning and Shaq in Miami), and a post-up maven Rasheed is not. And there are no Dwayne Wades on this team; Billups and Hamilton aren't quite as athletic.

Then, consider Riles would probably want power in the organization if he were hired (something similar to what he has in Miami, and something that could be tricky with Larry Brown's expected hire in Charlotte). Would team president Joe Dumars give him carte blanche? Even as mild-mannered as Joe is, I don't think he would take it well if Riley took command. And deep down, I don't think Bill Davidson would take it, either.

So, let's assume those things did happen, and Riles coaches the Pistons. Would they regain championship form? I don't see that happening. It's been four years since they won a title, and the core (except for Tayshaun Prince), is getting older. I think that their window is closing fast, and may shut if they don't win this year. Adding Riley may make things interesting, but not for the better interesting. And even though I suggested that Flip Saunders should get canned if they lose to Philly, Riley wouldn't be the right answer.