December 18, 2015
Critics of the Philadelphia 76ers often point to a lack of veteran leadership in the locker room as an area that could easily be upgraded.
While that hasn’t happened on the roster yet, the coaching staff is in line to gain a ton of experience. 64-year-old Mike D’Antoni, who racked up 455 regular-season wins in 12 years at multiple stops as an NBA head coach, is Brett Brown’s new top lieutenant, the team announced late on Friday afternoon (big surprise there):
The Philadelphia 76ers today announced the team has agreed to terms with Mike D’Antoni to become Associate Head Coach. D’Antoni brings 25 years of coaching experience to the Sixers’ staff, including 12 seasons as an NBA head coach.
On Thursday, the Inquirer’s Keith Pompey reported the move and said D'Antoni was spotted at the airport in Philadelphia. I wrote a lot about D’Antoni yesterday. His offensive credentials are excellent, and it will be fascinating to see what type of role he takes on within the coaching staff and how his presence will affect the way the Sixers play.
Is Seven Seconds or Less coming to Philly? How much of D’Antoni’s hiring was Jerry Colangelo’s doing? It might not be long until we start getting answers to some of these questions.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
