No Mo

[tk76-]

Like I said on Philaphans, this team is a MUCH less attractive spot for a head coach than it was last summer.

Entering the summer they were a young team on the rise with financial and roster flexibility and even an extra #1.

Right now they are an exposed, dysfunctional team with highly paid, long term contracts (Sam, Dala and Brand) for players who might not fit what a new coach wants to do.

It was a lot easier for Ed to put his stamp on the team last summer than it would be for a new coach heading forward.  They are no longer an attractive coaching destination.  They will settle for a second level guy- probably Eddie Jordan.

[anklebreaker]

I wouldn't be upset with Eddie Jordan, but I do think Avery Johnson is a better fit. 

[Skates]

Other than Sam they have two guys on long term contracts in Iguodala and Brand who have been very productive players in the league and are known for being good attitude guys.  They still have a ton of young, still developing talent in Iggy, Thad, Williams, Speights and don't forget Smith returning next year, plus they have all of their own first rounders coming up and acn add through trades and the MLE.  It is also a city with a good basketball history.  

If a coach does not want to coach here because Mo had these guys playing this poorly, then he obviously has no confidence in his own abilities and I don't want him.  You have to think you will get the team to play better than the last guy who was fired, unless you are taking over for a championship coach who just got tired of the game or was forced out for other reasons (like Tim Floyd following P-Jax).  The team needs more talent to be added, possibly a different mix of players and some development time for some really good youngsters.  Is it the best job in the NBA, no that would be Portland, but if I was a coach I would not think twice about taking this job if offered.

I think it is a very good possibility that our next coach, unless DiLeo blows the doors off, is under someone else's control right now.  I am still a fan of Thibodeau, I know he is known as a defensive coach, but it is a smart and disciplined defense and that kind of precise playing attitude plus a good offensive assistant (who knows Thibodeau may be a good offensive coach too) would be fine with me.  I just want to see a team that executes at a high level.

[jemagee]

You can't guarantee ford coaches the way ed wants and doesn't 'coach to win' - or maybe the 'chris ford era' last time wasn't as good for players as everyone thought?

[tk76-]

Skates, don't you think this team was a much more attractive head coaching destination at the beginning of the summer than it is right now?

[jemagee]

Hollinger says

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=MCheeks-081213

Regardless of who is at the helm, he isn't going to succeed unless the Sixers score a few points. Philly's D remains stout, ranking 8th in defensive efficiency after finishing 10th a year ago, but their putrid offense is costing them one game after another.

[anklebreaker]

It'll be interesting to see how many minutes Lou and Speights get.  I'm hoping DiLeo has intentions to include them more.  I'm also eager to see if Young returns to the starting lineup. 

[jemagee]

And in a roundabout way, that's another reason to pull the trigger on the coaching changes sooner rather than later. If DiLeo can't get any more from this gang than Cheeks could, it's a clear sign for Stefanski that his roster is flawed enough to require drastic action at the February trade deadline, and he'll be able to reshuffle the deck with a clear conscience.

Another interesting quote (to me) from the HOllinger article if you didn't read it.

[jemagee]

Mike James on Supernanny - more pathetic than jess palmer on the Bachelor right?

[rickortreat]

Horrah! I got my wish! 

Sorry, Mo. We love you but you can't coach.

I don't know anything about Tony Deleo's coaching abilities, but we'll eventually find out.  Even for a good coach, it will take some time to get this team to play to it's potential.

The key issue is the ability to execute a half-court offense successfully against the best teams in the NBA.  It's one thing to beat a team like Washington and quite another to beat the Cavaliers.

I didn't get to see much of the game, but it looked like Tony had Andre Miller playing a true point guard role, 8 pts. 12 ASSISTS!!!! and 4 bds.  That at least is very encouraging.

From the post game interview, it's clear Tony is a smart guy.  I think he can do very well with this team, and get them to play the right way on offense. Along with their defensive pressure they should be a pretty good team.

[jemagee]

Tony DiLeo is a caretaker who isn't going to want the job so is going to probably do what's best for the future of the team and not his coaching resume - as long as he's not a total moron and plays the young guys i'll be happy.

[DuckyNinja]

Tony DiLeo is a caretaker who isn't going to want the job so is going to probably do what's best for the future of the team and not his coaching resume - as long as he's not a total moron and plays the young guys i'll be happy.

I'm not so sure.  He doesn't have the interim label, and if he does well, there's a very good chance that he is not relieved of his duties after the season.  He may not be looking for another job in the NBA, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't be happy as the coach here.  He's not necessarily coaching to keep his job, but I'm sure he wants to win.  He just may feel that the young guys are the way to do it.

[jemagee]

Oh jeez - seriously - you're taking that nonsense seriously.

Interim to me just means "we can fire him at any time" - stefanski said that dileo is the head coach for the rest of the season - thus he won't be losing the job this season - i don't think it means anything more than that - there was already two major media heads speculating about eddie jordan right away stefanski wanted to squash that - that's all I see it as.

I expect if he wanted to be a head coach he would have pushed his career in a different directoin...19 years in front office to me indicates a guy who knows where his strengths lie and what he's good at, plus it's MUCH harder to get fired as assistant GM...I don't think the lack of an interim label means anything other than 'he's the guy for the rest of the season'

[Skates]

Skates, don't you think this team was a much more attractive head coaching destination at the beginning of the summer than it is right now?

Not unless it was a coach looking to make personnel decisions too.  I guess the fantasy of the unknown we had at the beginning of the summer was nice, but really how else would it have played out.   

We signed the best FA money could buy, and as you saw tonight, Brand is still a very good player.  We got an excellent young big in the draft.  Everyone knew we would re-sign Iggy and Williams to long term deals and try to sign a FA big man.  Josh Smith has not exactly set the world on fire in Atlanta this year and remains a slow developing project and was anything but a sure acquisition.  The other avaiable FA's and RFA's have not blown the doors off this year, so Brand still appears to have been the best choice. 

You said yourself last week that there was no use adding players until we had a new coach, therefore you implied that maybe our guys are not really as bad as they looked under Mo. We also could not hold onto our cap space because it would have disappeared when Iggy and Lou were signed.  By going all in for Brand we lost the ability to add shooting and this team desparately needs it.  We can add that next year at the MLE level, but I am hoping to see Stefanski make some moves this year to address some of the compatibility issues as well, possibly adding some shooting along the way.  I would not be completely surprised to see him use Thad and Sam to grab a big time SG, Thad and Iggy are both SF's and I am not sure they want to wait for both Thad and Speights to develop.  I would only do it for a top tier SG, not a guy like Redd or Carter, but I could see it happening down the road.

[tk76-]

You said yourself last week that there was no use adding players until we had a new coach, therefore you implied that maybe our guys are not really as bad as they looked under Mo.

I guess that's what I get for trying to argue with a lawyer .  I concede.

I'm just frustrated like everyone else (including Ed) at how crappy things have looked compared to what was expected this year.

I would not be completely surprised to see him use Thad and Sam to grab a big time SG, Thad and Iggy are both SF's and I am not sure they want to wait for both Thad and Speights to develop.  I would only do it for a top tier SG, not a guy like Redd or Carter, but I could see it happening down the road.

I don't see any player as untouchable, but its hard to come up with a SG that would be worth trading away Thad for.  I can think of a few young PG's or bigs, but no SG's come to mind unless someone like Kobe became available.  I guess maybe Ellis, but I can't see Lou and Ellis in the same backcourt, and its easier to build around Thad than Ellis.