David Blatt
The final name I propose for consideration is that of David Blatt, former head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers whose 1.5 years as head coach was brief, but incredibly successful. As a rookie head coach, he managed to lead the star studded Cavaliers to the NBA championship, where they fell to the Golden State Warriors 4-2. In his second season leading the team at 30 wins and 11 losses, he was fired.
General Manager David Griffin tried to explain away the dismissal as some sort of “disconnect in the locker room” and that he was putting the ship back to the surface before anyone drowned, but the reality is that Blatt never won over LeBron James.
Thankfully for both David Blatt and the Philadelphia 76ers, there is no such player with hire/fire coaching power on the Philadelphia 76ers. Also another plus, Blatt wants back in the race as quickly as possible:
"“I don’t see myself not being a head coach somewhere but you never know,” he said. In 23 years as a coach, Blatt has never taken a full season off. I’m going to coach next year. I’m not going to sit out. It’s not in my nature. I want to work,” he said. “I’ll be back somewhere. Could be anywhere.” – David Blatt"
Blatt would be an incredible coup for the Sixers coaching staff, as his offense orientation and international experience would both be huge to the team going forward. His is the offensive mind which is truly what this 76ers team would thrive under. This is footage from his tenure of the Cleveland Cavaliers:
Blatt’s offense, a version of the famous Princeton offense, and his version was remarkably effective. His team, the Tel Aviv Maccabi Electra was very effective and you can see the full offense impact in this video against the Madrid team. It’s a long video, two hours, but oh so worth watching.
Unfortunately, the Sixers inaction has cost them the opportunity to add Blatt to their coaching staff:
David Blatt to Darussafaka has been made official. Source: No NBA outs, two-season deal.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) June 1, 2016
The potential of Blatt overseeing an offense with Saric Simmon Embiid Covington and Okafor would have been so ideal for this team. Toss in a veteran wing with accurate treys, and this ho hum hiring would become an immediate headliner. Now, that will not be the case.
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Right now, the Philadelphia 76ers Assistant Coach candidates need to be identified quickly for the benefit of head coach Brett Brown. Thereforee, if the team truly is seeking to fast track improvement, there are a number highly qualified candidates to choose from. The Sixers need to act fast, as we don’t want to allow Brett Brown to assume the full burden of this team to begin another season.