Philadelphia 76ers Curious Hire Asst Head Coach Jim OBrien

Philadelphia 76ers announce hiring Jim OBrien As Assistant Head Coach. But, does he fit?

The Philadelphia 76ers have finally filled the void left behind by Mike D’Antoni by tapping former Philadelphia 76ers head coach Jim O’Brien.  President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo has not wasted much time in finding an assistant for this head coach, Brett Brown.

O’Brien coached for the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2004-2005 season and led the team to the playoffs in his only season.  Despite a multi-year contract, and a playoff appearance, he was fired by then general manager Billy King.

"“In the interview process with Jim, there were a lot of things that we talked about,” King said. “But in watching the season, evaluating our young players’ development and evaluating our style of play, it wasn’t something I was comfortable with.”"

The firing also coincided with the availability of Maurice Cheeks, just fired by the Portland Trailblazers. Immediately after firing O’Brien, the team hired Cheeks to replace him.

"“I look at Mo Cheeks and I know Mo Cheeks. If players have problems with Mo Cheeks, then there’s got to be something wrong with those players.I look in the mirror every day,” King said. “I’m not somebody that’s above scrutiny, but I think I try to do the best I can and make the best decisions.”"

If this were the end of it, there would be less concerns about the hiring. But there’s more.  Prior to the 76ers season, he was the head coach of the Boston Celtics from 2001-2004.  As the Celtics head coach, he had good success – getting to the conference finals in 2002 and to the conference semi-finals in 2003.  But the 2003-2004 team struggled, and by the time the team stood at a 22-24 record, he resigned.

Next: Trail of Conflict

A Trail of Conflict

Why would a head coach resign during a rather successful run?  He hated change.  Pure and simple.   He bonded with his players, grew to trust them, learned their strengths and weaknesses.
And then they were gone.

O’Brien felt he was in charge of a playoff caliber team.  Ainge saw a team with huge holes that needed replaced.  And their relationship ended.

He had a third head coaching run with the Indiana Pacers. He was hired to coach the team in May of 2007, and he remained until the start of the 2010-2011 season. That team never made the playoffs under his reign, but the straw that broke the camel’s back happened on  year four.

Larry Bird was the general manager of the team and was bothered by O’Brien’s refusal to give more minutes to the team’s young players. Bird said he’d like to see rookie Paul George play more, and he was frustrated with how little forward Tyler Hansbrough played early in the season. He felt that O’Brien’s public berating of center Roy Hibbert damaged the 7-foot-2 center’s confidence. Bird and Vogel agreed that Hibbert is an important piece of the team’s future.

"“I just didn’t believe in that stuff when I coached, and I didn’t believe it when I played,” Bird said. “But Jimmy does things that Jimmy does. That’s how he expresses himself, and he thinks he can motivate the player like that. But in this case, with the guys that we have, I don’t think it worked well.”"

Now, don’t misunderstand me.  As a lifelong fan of the Philadelphia 76ers, I think I’m okay with someone who doesn’t get along with former Boston Celtics players Danny Ainge or Larry Bird.  But the reasons for the dismissals are troubling.

Next: Another Comeback Kid?

Another Comeback Kid?

This hiring has all the fingerprints of a Bryan Colangelo, rather than Brett Brown, decision.  JIm O’Brien likes veterans, and he’s being brought on to whip a team of rookies, one and two year veterans into shape.

This almost feels like a bad cop to head coach Brett Brown’s good cop.

Ian Levy of SB Nation wrote an incredibly well-crafted and data-packed evaluation of Jim O’Brien back on April 28, 2010.  In this expose, he looked deeply at the career of Jim O’Brien and tried to measure, objectively and statistically, how effective the performance of O’Brien had been over the course of his career with three separate NBA teams.

The results of the analysis were as surprising to Levy as they are to me:

"When I started collecting stats for this post I expected all the numbers to reinforce my own conception: That Jim O’Brien was a terrible coach and should be fired before next season. The truth is apparently more complicated. In his three years in Indiana he has been working with below average teams in terms of talent. Despite that he has gotten the Pacers to play hard and on occasion play really well. They have started each season badly, but never quit on him and finished each season strongly. O’Brien has also had a hand in changing the perceived culture of the organization from one of gun toting-thugs to hard working over-achievers. Except for a few poorly chosen comments to the media this year, he has been professional and positive about his team and their situation. I also understand, with the teams current financial challenges, how unpalatable it would be to let him go now and pay the salaries of two head coaches next season. Despite the positives, I think he has not done everything the job required of him. Their has not been sufficient development of young players. There is still too much disorganization and chaos on the floor, especially on the offensive end. Too often tactical advantages and opportunities are passed or ignored. In my heart I don’t think he is a coach who is can lead the Pacers to a championship and I don’t want to waste even one more year floundering for the sake of finances or stability. – Ian Levy, April 28, 2010, SB Nation"

In the end, it’s all about the chemistry – the mix of encouragement and discipline.  Perhaps this will cover both sides of the street, where the track of Brown will be a “mencshe” and O’Brien will take on the role of drill sergeant.

Next: A 2004 Interview

A 2004 Interview Which Could Happen in 2016

When he was hired on April 21, 2004 as the head coach of the then Philadelphia 76ers, Jim O’Brien volunteered to join EPSN’s live chat with the fans.  That interview was pretty telling then, and while some answers may have changed, it’s certainly a lot of fun to see the questions and answers from way back then (particularly now when we know how things had turned out)

"Matt Raisman (Huntingdon Valley) Coach I am glad you are in Philly! I wanted to know why you choose this position out of all the other openings? Jim O’Brien (2:03 PM)There were no other openings when Philadelphia asked me to coach their team. But I have had a dream to coach this team since they were called the Warriors. It is also intriguing to coach a guy like Allen Iverson and to have a core of veterans like Allen and Eric and Aaron and some good young players like Sam Dalembert and Willie Green. So I’m real excited about the possibilities with this team. Aliziak (Miami, FL)Congratulations on the new gig. This is your first time coming to an NBA team as a head coach from the start. What things did you learn in Boston that you will do differently? Jim O’Brien (2:05 PM)I don’t know if there’s anything I will do dramatically different. I think the way I tried to lead my team in Boston is based on years of studying great coaches in the past. I think communicatioin is a key. In the NBA, unlike college basketball, you have to realize you are coaching adults. These things change from city to city. But I look forward to this task in Philadelphia. William, charleston, wva Do you see Derrick Coleman being with this team and having a big impact next year? His size and rebounding ability would be a big help to us if healthy. Jim O’Brien (2:06 PM) We have not made a firm decision on Derrick. Billy and his staff, along with me, will evaluate all our players in depth, including Derrick. We want to see if this is a place, an environment that Derrick will thrive in. kenny from springfield Your a awsome Coach and I wish you the the best in Philly. What type of player do you look for in the draft?? Jim O’Brien (2:07 PM) We’ll probably take the best player available, regardless of position, regardles of age. It won’t matter what part of the world he’s from either. We think there’s good depth and even if we pick at No. 9, we think we can get a good player who will help us build going into the future. Vince (France) What do you hope for Samuel Dalembert next year? Will he be starter nex season? Jim O’Brien (2:09 PM) I have high expectations for Samuel. I’d like him to continue to develop, which will happen with lots of hard work from him and guidance from our staff. We think he can be a starter, but we also need some depth there, and we’ll want to bring someone in to help in that regard. Depending on the quality of that player, and the competition, we’ll see if that means Sam will start. Alessandro (Worcester MA) What will it feel like to become a conference rival to the team that you were at the helm of for the last few seasons? Jim O’Brien (2:10 PM) I’m sure it will be a very interesting challenge. I’ve put alot of my life into the Celtics over the past seven years. I’m very thankful for the opportunity the Celtics afforded me and the O’Brien family. But now I’m with the Sixers and there has been a long rivalry between the two teams, and I expect that a healthy rivalry will continue. jah (stroudsburg) Where do you feel this team needs the most improvement and how will your coaching style impact that? Jim O’Brien (2:12 PM) If you’re talking about overall improvement, I think we’re not happened (s.b.Happy) with how we finished the year defensively, and we didn’t like our field goal percentage offensively. We need to get the proper people to execute our defensive plan and to get our people to work hard on defense. Offensively, I want to surround Allen Iverson with people who will make it hard for teams to trap him. I want people who can knock down shots and make teams pay for doubling Allen. Alexander Fox (Altoona, Pa) I am so happy your the 76ers coach! I wanted to know your thoughts on the young players on this team (Green, Korver, etc.) Jim O’Brien (2:15 PM) I think Willie Green is gonna be a heckuva player. Not only can he make his shot, but he can learn to be a good defensive player. Kyle’s ability to hit his shot from deep is well documented. He’ll need to improve his all-around game. Samuel is a good player too. He has to create an attitude defensively where he won’t want to allow teams to get layups against us and he needs to work on his footwork. John Salmon is very athletic and needs to work on some things too, including expanding his offensive game. Chris (Boston)Hey Coach, Do you think you’ll be able to surpass your father-in-law’s (Dr. Jack) success with the sixers as a coach? Jim O’Brien (2:16 PM) I’m unfamiliar with Jack’s level of success with the Sixers (Laughing). The relationship I have with Dr. Jack is very important to me, not only as a father figure, but as coaching mind. I try to talk to him often, he’s been a great role model for me and a great resource for me too. Ryan Phi Going from boston to philadelphia do you think you can have the same success with the current sixers roster? Jim O’Brien (2:18 PM) This will be my fourth head coaching job, two in college and my second here in the pros. We have a track record of success and we tend to turn things around pretty fast in the first year. We concentrate key ingrediants like physical conditioning and team chemistry. We want a close-knit group who treat each other in a positive manner. I’ve never seen a basketball team worth anything that didn’t concentrate on those areas. Marilyn ( los Angeles) Are you looking forward to coaching AI, if he is to remain a sixer? Do you think the sixers have what it takes to get to the easter finals next year with the right additions to the team? Jim O’Brien (2:21 PM) Yeah, I’m very much looking forward to coaching Allen. Anyone who has coached against him will tell you he is a nightmare to coach against, so it will be fun to have him on my side. Nobody gives more to a game in order to win. I think it’s a key we draft well, we need to fill some holes in the 4 and 5 position. Any opportunities to upgrade our team, we’ll take. On the playoffs, the key is to get homecourt advantage. We want to play defense, which leads to wins in the playoffs. We’re gonna need some help, but we think if we get the commitment we need and bond as a group going into the season, we’ll be able to challenge teams in the playoffs. Jim O’Brien (2:22 PM) I enjoyed the time chatting with the NBA fans and the Sixers fans in particular. It’s always good to interact with fans and I’m looking forward to some big things in Philadelphia next season."

And there you have it, some twelve years later.  Why is this role so important to the future of the Philadelphia 76ers? If the team fails to meet the expectations of the front office, this position is likely to be the first considered to run the team.  It happened in Toronto, and could happen in Philadelphia.

Next: Philadelphia 76ers: 5 Reasons Jerryd Bayless is a Good Signing

And so, rather than give you a blip of information, I feel it’s important to truly know our “next in command” – both the positives and the negatives.   The worst feeling is failed expectations.
I think Jim O’Brien can work out, as long as he works well with Brett Brown.  He brings a completely different style and approach.  We’ll see soon enough.