The Philadelphia 76ers finished up one of the worst seasons in NBA history earlier this week as they won just 10 games, yet there still seems to be slight movement in the right direction. Sam Hinkie is out and Bryan Colangelo is now in as the new general manager. Colangelo has had success in the past of turning teams around but will face his toughest task ever now in Philadelphia.
The 76ers have some young players with bright futures, but it is very clear that they need some major upgrades to their roster if they want to get back to being competitive. The one thing that seemed certain heading into next year was the head coaching position, but that may not be true anymore.
In the middle of the season, the Sixers brought Mike D'Antoni on board as an assistant coach to help run the offense. At that time, many thought that D'Antoni was hired as Brett Brown's future replacement, but the 76ers denied it and Brown said that he was happy to have D'Antoni on board, as he could use the help. The 76ers even backed up their assertion that Brown was their guy by giving him a contract extension.
Since Colangelo has come on board, what he has said regarding Brown has been in line with what the Sixers have been saying. Colangelo says that he told ownership that Brown would be the coach going forward. Despite what Colangelo has said in the media, there are multiple reports out there that make it seem like Brown's job isn't so safe.
There are multiple job openings across the NBA, and one report states that if D'Antoni gets offered any of those openings, Colangelo could look to promote D'Antoni so that he won't leave. Of course, if that situation were to materialize, it would mean tht Brown is out, but that seems like something Colangelo would be willing to do, as he clearly doesn't want to lose D'Antoni.
Even if D'Antoni isn't offered another head coaching position, there are some people that believe the plan is still for him to succeed Brown. Another report states that there is a 50 percent chance of Brown opening up the season as the head coach and only a 20 percent chance that he finishes the season there. Those odds are much lower than we have been led to believe by the 76ers themselves, but they clearly are very high on D'Antoni.
If Brown is in fact done with the 76ers at some point this offseason or next season, he got quite a raw deal. The 55-year-old coach has been given rosters with a massive lack of talent and was coaching under a general manager, in Hinkie, that was trying to lose. Brown handled it well throughout and likely deserves a chance to coach a team with more talent, but it seems like the 76ers might have already found the guy that they see as their next coach.
