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Editor's note: As part of "The Stein Line" every Monday, ESPN.com senior NBA writer Marc Stein takes you around the league for the latest news in "Coast to Coast."

Trend spotters undoubtedly noted that the Atlanta Hawks' selection of Terry Stotts to replace the deposed Lon Kruger gave the NBA three new head coaches who haven't had big public profiles. Although Stotts has been considered for three previous top jobs -- Detroit, Portland and Denver -- he joins the Warriors' Eric Musselman and the Nuggets' Jeff Bzdelik in Club Unheralded.

Or does he?

Stotts sees it differently. The trend, to him, is that long-time assistant coaches all over the league -- well-known former players or otherwise -- are consistently getting promotions now when openings arise. The unexpected resurrection of 69-year-old Hubie Brown in Memphis was an obvious exception, but otherwise the theory seems to hold.

"I think it actually started with Nate McMillan and Byron Scott and Rick Carlisle," Stotts said. "And then you had Jim O'Brien and Bill Cartwright and Frank Johnson."

Throw in Portland's Mo Cheeks and you have 10 coaches who have moved up from lead assistant in the recent past. That compares to just two star players-turned-coaches with no prior X-and-O experience: Indiana's Isiah Thomas and Orlando's Doc Rivers, not surprisingly a couple of top-flight point guards.

Of the other 17 head-coaching positions, 14 are held by men who have coached at least two NBA teams: Rick Adelman, Hubie Brown, Larry Brown, Don Chaney, Doug Collins, Alvin Gentry, Phil Jackson, George Karl, John Lucas, Don Nelson, Pat Riley, Paul Silas, Jerry Sloan and Lenny Wilkens. The remaining three jobs belong to vets who have coached only one team since moving up from the assistant ranks long ago: San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, Minnesota's Flip Saunders and Houston's Rudy Tomjanovich.

Of course, it remains to be seen how long the newest of the new kids -- Bzdelik, Musselman and Stotts -- can hang on to their opportunities. You can be fairly sure that there won't be any great demand for college coaches forthcoming, unless Tom Izzo gets an NBA hankering, but there are some prominent TV guys who are bound to get back in soon: Mike Dunleavy, Jeff Van Gundy and perhaps Mike Fratello.

More from the Stotts-Karl chronicles
The sidebar to the Stotts hiring is that it gives Atlanta yet another Milwaukee castoff with added incentive to pip the Bucks for the No. 8 spot in the East. Stotts knows, as his primary consideration, that he probably needs a playoff berth to keep the job beyond this season, but he's also a bit like Glenn Robinson and Darvin Ham, having left Brewtown in less-than-pleasant circumstances.

Stotts declined to comment when asked to expound on his decision to leave George Karl's staff after a decade and a half at Karl's side, but the word in coaching circles is that this was far from an amicable, mutual parting as billed. At last report, Stotts and Karl still hadn't spoken since Kruger's firing Thursday.

Stotts, though, still speaks of his mentor in admiring terms. "I wouldn't be in the position I am today without George," Stotts said. "What kind of coach I am has a lot to do with George."

That would be a coach who, like the Seattle-vintage Karl, expects his team's energy to come from its active defense. In another twist, Stotts' first big coaching move has a Milwaukee flavor. Mike Wilks, fresh out of the NBDL, was moved straight into the rotation by Stotts to give Atlanta a more pass-first option at point guard than Jason Terry, given the Hawks' well-documented turnover trouble. Wilks, who hasn't turned the ball over once in his first 67 minutes in the NBA, was Karl's pet in Bucks training camp.

As for his own shot at the big time, Stotts said: "I had probably gotten to the point where I wasn't worried about it anymore. Lo and behold, you stop thinking about it and something like this happens. ... But even though people think I'm a young coach, I'm 45. It's almost like (it's) now or never."

Israel gets an unlikely boost ... from basketball
Another trend: Israel's plucky emergence as a hot spot for NBA alumni.

Cedric Ceballos, the former scoring machine last seen in the fall with the Harlem Globetrotters, signed with Hapoel Tel-Aviv two days after Christmas. That gave the Israeli League three American players -- along with Ironi Ramat-Gan's Khalid El-Amin and Maccabi Tel-Aviv's Quincy Lewis -- who are still good enough to play in the NBA.

That's believed to be a first, which obviously thrills a country where the NBA enjoys immense popularity. But it's even bigger news now, given Israel's political climate and the daily threat of suicide bombings. Those conditions, along with a three-year offer from the Toronto Raptors, helped convince Nate Huffman to leave one of the best salaries in international basketball with Maccabi Tel-Aviv to return to North America.

Without the danger, Israel would undoubtedly be one of the most desirable locales for Yanks playing abroad. Almost everyone there speaks English, basketball is almost on par with soccer for fans and there's always a beach and nightlife nearby. Because of that danger, Ceballos' arrival is a major coup for the league and the hoops-mad locals who love it. As a former All-Star, Ceballos is among the most decorated Americans to ever play in Israel, along with Tom Chambers, Micheal Ray Richardson and Mike Mitchell.

Suns getting mileage again out of their Penny
Penny Hardaway's Christmas gift came in April. That's when Dr. Richard Steadman, the renowned Colorado knee specialist, removed a piece of loose bone that Hardaway didn't realize was floating in his left knee.

"A lot of doctors said it was all in my head," Hardaway said. "They told me I just had to accept what kind of player I was now. But the pain was excruciating. Thank God Dr. Steadman cleaned everything up."

Hardaway took the summer off from basketball to recover from the surgery, rescinded his request to be traded and told coach Frank Johnson that he'd accept whatever role Johnson preferred. Hardaway has wound up starting 27 of the Suns' 30 games, forming a backcourt understanding with Stephon Marbury that has helped propel Phoenix to an unexpected 19-11 start.

"Penny has shown a lot of leadership," said Suns president and general manager Bryan Colangelo. "He is deferring. He has been an absolute pro."

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.