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DALLAS - Sacramento coach Rick Adelman wants to see the NBA playoffs reseeded after each round to reward the best regular-season teams with the most favorable matchups.

As it stands now, if a No. 8 seed beats a No. 1 seed in the first round, then the No. 8 seed plays the winner of Nos. 4 vs. 5. The No. 2 seed, if it wins its first-round series, plays the winner of Nos. 3 vs. 6.

Under Adelman's plan, the highest-ranked seeds left in the playoffs always would play the lowest-ranked seeds.

"To me, that makes all the sense in the world," Adelman said. "The second seed should be the top seed if the top seed is knocked out. That would give the regular season more meaning."

Yes, you could argue that Adelman is being, ahem, a bit self-serving, considering his Kings are headed for the No. 2 seed.

Still, Adelman - a longtime proponent of the seven-game series in the first round, which the NBA is using next month, is hopeful the league at least will consider it.

"I started talking about the seven-game series eight years ago, and it's just now changing," Adelman said. "So maybe eight years down the line, this will change, too."

CAROLINA ON THEIR MINDS? Two NBA coaches - each a former North Carolina Tar Heel player - are expected to be candidates if Roy Williams does not take the job.

Sixers coach Larry Brown (Class of '63) has coached at UCLA and Kansas and probably would return to his alma mater if asked by former coach Dean Smith. Brown, you may recall, left the New Jersey Nets late in the regular season in 1983 to accept the job at Kansas, Smith's alma mater.

Bucks coach George Karl (Class of '73) has never coached in college but might be ready to give it a shot after back-to-back disappointing seasons in Milwaukee. He even has an escape clause in his contract to take the UNC job, one he campaigned for three years ago when calling it a "dream job."

The timing of a possible move would be terrible for either team, since the Sixers are already in the playoffs and the Bucks are on the verge of clinching a spot. But if the decision comes down to money, their current annual salaries - Brown makes $6 million, Karl makes $7 million - might make such a move prohibitive. Then, the decision would be to follow their heart ... or their pocketbooks.

FOOLED YOU: Mavericks owner Mark Cuban pulled the best April Fools joke of the year (unofficially). Cuban got a phony referee to stand at the free throw line during a timeout and spent some time yelling at the faux ref.

Then Cuban approached the man and shoved him, and the two got into a brawl. Some team personnel, including a fooled center Evan Eschmeyer, began pulling the two apart. Assistant Del Harris fell for the bit also, heading toward Cuban to pull him away.

JORDAN ON LeBRON: Michael Jordan is either an objective observer bringing some proper perspective to the LeBron James hype, or he's just an old, bitter player:

"I think once James gets on this level, he's not in the upper echelon of shooting guards and small forwards. I think he's toward the bottom," Jordan said. "He has unbelievable potential, but he hasn't played against the competition consistently in college or the pros. He's played against high school kids who are probably under 6 feet and have the talent of sportswriters.

"Five years from now, if he takes on the dedication of being the best basketball player he can be and continues to improve and accept challenges and not get comfortable with what's been given to him, or what the expectations may be, he can be a good pro."

Stat of the week

Which teams have the best benches, at least in terms of scoring production? Here are the five best this season:

Team	Avg.	Top bench scorer
1. Pistons	33.9	C. Williamson(12.0)
2. Bucks	32.7	M. Redd (15.1)
3. Bulls	32.2	x-M. Fizer (11.7)

x-injured, out for season.