It looks like Paul Westphal is interested in the job and Danny is interested in him. Nothing is done yet, but this looks like it could be a layup if not a slam dunk.
So just is Paul Westphal? A brief look around the internet allowed me to come up with the following:
Celtic Nation has a nice interview with him where he talks fondly of his short playing career as a Boston Celtic.
"Even though I played in Boston for just three seasons – and never started a game [laughs] – I still consider myself a Boston Celtic. There are still people today – especially those who followed the game closely at that time – who still associate me with the Celtic organization. My connection to the Celtics actually goes back further than my playing career. I can say that I was there the night Bob Cousy played his last game."
Tommy Heinson was his coach while he was there. He was traded to the Suns and was part of the triple overtime playoff game against the C's. As a coach he led the Suns to 62 wins his first year and a trip to the finals in 1993 (which Danny was a part of). He also coached the Sonics for a couple of seasons but has spent the last few coaching his son's team at Pepperdine (taking them to the NCAA tourney his first season).
That's what I've been able to come up with. From everything I've read and heard, he's a solid, respected coach with a strong Celtic background and a coaching style that blends well with Danny Ainge's vision. If anyone is going to make this thing work, I think its him.
From what I've seen/heard, I like him a lot and I'd be very happy to see him take the helm next year. Perhaps he can take this group of young players and make them a team. Something that never really happened this year. Go get him Danny.