It's hard enough to beat the San Antonio basketball machine led by a prime Tim Duncan in a best-of-seven series. Now imagine your coach is mentally preparing to join another team while you're trying to slay the Spurs dragon.
That's what happened during the 2005 NBA Finals. While Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and the defensive-minded Pistons looked to stifle the Spurs, Detroit coach Larry Brown was already lining up his next job. Brown was in talks to become the next coach of the Knicks, even with the Pistons only a few wins away from back-to-back championships. He ultimately took the helm in New York shortly after the Pistons fell to the Spurs in seven games.