The Philadelphia 76ers are the worst team in the NBA with their 1-24 record and they have been making some changes to try and ensure that the losing doesn't continue for too much longer. Jerry Colangelo was brought in to help in the front office and make sure the roster keeps moving forward which has put Sam Hinkie's position firmly in limbo. Now it is being reported that the 76ers are considering adding Mike D'Antoni to the coaching staff, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, which could mean trouble for Brett Brown.
D'Antoni and Colangelo have a longstanding relationship that dates back to their time together with the Phoenix Suns and has continued with USA Basketball. The 76ers are saying that bringing in D'Antoni is not a threat to Brown's job but instead he would be brought in to help Brown develop the players and run better offense.
Brown just signed a two year contract extension with the 76ers, despite his 38-150 record, that will keep him under contract in Philly until the 2018-19 season so that would seem to keep him safe for now but some see this as added pressure on Brown to develop the young players and start winning more. Brown's record is ugly but the organization knows that he was put in a no-win situation with the 76ers and they have liked the way he has handled it which is why he received the extension.
Despite the organization liking Brown though, some see this D'Antoni talk as strange considering he would be lurking if Brown's team continues to lose. Bringing on D'Antoni might also take away some of Brown's power as D'Antoni is an experienced head coach who would likely have some say in what was going on with the team. For his part though, Brown sees the idea of bringing on D'Antoni as an assistant as a good thing and he said he would welcome it.
D'Antoni's overall record as a head coach between the Suns, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers is 455-426 but when he was with Colangelo in Phoenix he had a record of 253-156 and won the NBA Coach of the Year award in 2004-05. D'Antoni is known as an excellent offensive mind and would likely be able to help somewhat but he does cater to guards and on a team with very little talent overall, guard happens to be Philadelphia's weakest spot. Major changes are happening in Philadelphia and if D'Antoni is hired Brown will have some significant pressure to start getting some results in the win column.
