Although Gregg Popovich and Phil Jackson are two of the better coaches in the league, it's glaring that the new trend is to hire younger former NBA players the current ballers have actually heard of. The Byron Scotts, Doc Rivers and Nate McMillins.

Monday's three new hirings all fit squarely into the new mold. Now, whether or not they were all ideal for the job can be largely debated.

Michael Curry staying in Detroit to take over the Pistons is a good, logical hire. He's clearly tight with the players and well respected. His familiarity with the city will serve him well and his relative youth will be an advantage as Joe Dumars revamps the roster this offseason. While he has no previous head coaching experience, it's a low risk chance on an up-and-coming name.

Terry Porter to the Phoenix Suns is a bit of a surprise, but another solid hire. Porter has previous head coaching experience, and since it was in Milwaukee, you can't fault him for the lack of success in just two seasons. No one is going to win with the Bucks.

It was obvious that Steve Kerr was going to try and change the mentality in Phoenix. Up-tempo offense with very little focus on defense just isn't going to work. It brings fans to the games, very fun to watch, but ultimately everyone is more happier with championships. Porter still wants an up-tempo pace, with a lot of pick and rolls but is committed to defense first.

Steve Nash and Shaquille have a couple seasons left, at most, and I'm convinced the former Blazers point guard gives the Suns a better chance to win a championship than they had with D'Antoni.

Naturally, the peculiar hire comes out of Chicago. Below is new head coach Vinny Del Negro's previous coaching experience:



Impressive, huh? Don't worry I'm not going to bash this hire like you'd expect. That's Jay Mariotti's job to go against every single decision in this city.

I like that John Paxson and Jerry Reinsdorf took a risk on a younger coach. No reason to go back to Doug Collins, who wasn't going to be that dramatic a change from the Scott Skiles era. Del Negro has a great deal of playing experience, and as a point guard should be able to offer valuable counsel to Derrick Rose. Frankly, I'm just happy the Bulls made a decision.

What worries me is that the organization who knew Vinny best, the Phoenix Suns, hardly considered him at all as their new head coach. It would also be nice if, you know, he'd ever sat on a coaching bench before. Even some kids YMCA action would be sufficient since he'll be directing a bunch of babies around in the United Center.

Which hire do you like the most? Is Del Negro worth the risk?