[In late August, Rick Carlisle was in an Atlanta studio ...

[In late August, Rick Carlisle was in an Atlanta studio auditioning for TNT by doing a mock game telecast with Kevin Harlan. He'd also been in touch with ESPN, and his transition from head coach to talking head seemed all but certain.] Something was going to be done in the next three or four days... But then I got the call from Larry [Bird] saying this situation was going to change.