Major shake-ups continue for the Philadelphia 76ers as they add former Coach of the Year Mike D’Antoni to Brett Brown’s coaching staff as the associate head coach. There were reports that the Sixers had been discussing such a move for a little over a week, and now Keith Pompey of Philly.com is reporting that the hiring is official.
Veteran NBA coach Mike D’Antoni is now the associate head coach of the 76ers, two league sources said Thursday night.
Mike D’Antoni joins Sixers as associate head coach, sources say.
D’Antoni, 64, was spotted when he arrived at Philadelphia International Airport. He had been in talks with the Sixers to join their coaching staff.
On the surface, this seems like a good deal. D’Antoni is an offensive savant, (who served as head coach in Phoenix when Jerry Colangelo, now also with the Sixers, was the general manager), and should be able to pass along that knowledge to an offense that currently scores a league-worst 91.8 points per 100 possessions.
The Sixers have struggled with their point guards this year, and D’Antoni has a knack for getting the best out of that position. The former Italian star likewise has a knack for recreating the YMCA dance. What, don’t believe me? It’s true!
https://twitter.com/JordanSWhite/status/677897407628075008
This also allows the Sixers to get the best of D’Antoni while avoiding his worst. Though he’s a great coach, developing young talent – which is basically all the Sixers have – has never been his strong suit. Brown, meanwhile, has done a tremendous job cultivating the Sixers’ young assets, both the highly-prized first rounders and the diamonds in the rough like Hollis Thompson and Jerami Grant. This feels like an uneasy alliance, but if it works out like all parties hope, it could be the start of a beautiful relationship.
(Via Philly.com)
