what an awful coach.
The slumping Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday became the fifth NBA team to make a coaching change this season, deciding they had to fire Maurice Cheeks despite extending his contract twice in the past year.
As reported by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, citing sources, Cheeks was informed of his dismissal Saturday morning after the Sixers suffered their eighth loss in 10 games Friday night at Cleveland and dropped to 9-14.
The move was expected to be officially announced by the Sixers later Saturday, with Smith reporting that assistant general manager Tony DiLeo will replace Cheeks on an interim basis. Philadelphia hosts the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
NBA coaching sources told ESPN.com the Sixers were determined to give Cheeks every chance to halt Philadelphia's slide after picking up his option for this season in February, extending his contract again in September and spending big money in the offseason to sign Elton Brand away from the Los Angeles Clippers and re-sign Andre Iguodala.
But the Sixers appeared to be sliding further and further away from the high expectations generated by Brand's arrival, falling into their current 2-8 funk after a brief uptick in November that nudged their record to 7-6.
DiLeo
Sources said that the firing happened now because removing Cheeks -- whose contract is guaranteed through next season -- was the easiest way for management to shake things up. After Friday's 88-72 road loss to the Cavaliers, Andre Iguodala provided a worrying glimpse of the team's psyche, telling reporters: "We didn't have the mental toughness down the stretch. We kind of gave in. I'm not saying that as a team we didn't play hard, but we didn't execute and we didn't get the stops we needed." Sources close to the situation say that Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski, while planning for DiLeo to coach the team for the rest of the season, will explore the possibility of a reunion with Eddie Jordan, who was fired by the Wizards on Nov. 24 after a 1-10 start.
It remains to be seen whether Stefanski -- who worked with Jordan in New Jersey -- can hold off until after the season to hire the full-time replacement for Cheeks he wants most or if he will decide he has to move quickly in spite of the additional expense. Cheeks is a Sixers legend who started at guard for the club's championship team in 1982-83 and posted a 122-147 record in three-plus seasons as coach in his return to Philadelphia. A second-half surge last season was enough to take the Sixers into the playoffs with a mark of 40-42, but the bar had been raised significantly after Philly extended Detroit to six games in the first round and then signed Brand.
The Sixers, though, have struggled to integrate Brand offensively with the holdovers from last season that thrived in a frenetic, up-tempo system Cheeks employed to mitigate Philadelphia's lack of outside shooting. Sources say that Cheeks had been urged by his bosses to keep trying to push the ball -- on the premise that Brand, as a former All-Star, could adjust to anything and would eventually find his niche -- but the Sixers have clearly lacked cohesion at both ends. Brand also missed two games recently with a hamstring injury.
The other coaches fired this season in addition to Cheeks and Jordan were Oklahoma City's P.J. Carlesimo on Nov. 22 with a record of 1-12, Toronto's Sam Mitchell on Dec. 3 with a record of 8-9 and Minnesota's Randy Wittman on Monday with the Wolves at 4-15.
The slumping Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday became the fifth NBA team to make a coaching change this season, deciding they had to fire Maurice Cheeks despite extending his contract twice in the past year.
As reported by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, citing sources, Cheeks was informed of his dismissal Saturday morning after the Sixers suffered their eighth loss in 10 games Friday night at Cleveland and dropped to 9-14.
The move was expected to be officially announced by the Sixers later Saturday, with Smith reporting that assistant general manager Tony DiLeo will replace Cheeks on an interim basis. Philadelphia hosts the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
NBA coaching sources told ESPN.com the Sixers were determined to give Cheeks every chance to halt Philadelphia's slide after picking up his option for this season in February, extending his contract again in September and spending big money in the offseason to sign Elton Brand away from the Los Angeles Clippers and re-sign Andre Iguodala.
But the Sixers appeared to be sliding further and further away from the high expectations generated by Brand's arrival, falling into their current 2-8 funk after a brief uptick in November that nudged their record to 7-6.
Sources said that the firing happened now because removing Cheeks -- whose contract is guaranteed through next season -- was the easiest way for management to shake things up. After Friday's 88-72 road loss to the Cavaliers, Andre Iguodala provided a worrying glimpse of the team's psyche, telling reporters: "We didn't have the mental toughness down the stretch. We kind of gave in. I'm not saying that as a team we didn't play hard, but we didn't execute and we didn't get the stops we needed." Sources close to the situation say that Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski, while planning for DiLeo to coach the team for the rest of the season, will explore the possibility of a reunion with Eddie Jordan, who was fired by the Wizards on Nov. 24 after a 1-10 start.
It remains to be seen whether Stefanski -- who worked with Jordan in New Jersey -- can hold off until after the season to hire the full-time replacement for Cheeks he wants most or if he will decide he has to move quickly in spite of the additional expense. Cheeks is a Sixers legend who started at guard for the club's championship team in 1982-83 and posted a 122-147 record in three-plus seasons as coach in his return to Philadelphia. A second-half surge last season was enough to take the Sixers into the playoffs with a mark of 40-42, but the bar had been raised significantly after Philly extended Detroit to six games in the first round and then signed Brand.
The Sixers, though, have struggled to integrate Brand offensively with the holdovers from last season that thrived in a frenetic, up-tempo system Cheeks employed to mitigate Philadelphia's lack of outside shooting. Sources say that Cheeks had been urged by his bosses to keep trying to push the ball -- on the premise that Brand, as a former All-Star, could adjust to anything and would eventually find his niche -- but the Sixers have clearly lacked cohesion at both ends. Brand also missed two games recently with a hamstring injury.
The other coaches fired this season in addition to Cheeks and Jordan were Oklahoma City's P.J. Carlesimo on Nov. 22 with a record of 1-12, Toronto's Sam Mitchell on Dec. 3 with a record of 8-9 and Minnesota's Randy Wittman on Monday with the Wolves at 4-15.
