In what has been a season of tremendous disappointment, the Philadelphia 76ers will be on the burner this offseason regarding their personnel, which contemplates not only the roster, but also those up top from the coaching staff to team executives. At this point, the fastest way for the team to forget this disaster is to do everything they can toward a soft reboot.
Amid their ongoing collapse, one thing that has also been infuriating for fans and pundits alike is the nightly display of underwhelming coaching decisions care of Nick Nurse. Since the 76ers kicked off their losing escapade this season, many have been calling for the franchise to put him on the hot seat, but so far, that has not been the case at all.
As things currently stand, Philadelphia seems content to stand pat with Nurse and see what he can do with a replenished deck to play with. Unfortunately, the best coaches make do with whatever they have, and Nurse’s inability to craft ways to rack up wins without Joel Embiid in particular dating back from last season is a huge red flag.
The 76ers should look at Erik Spoelstra as a pipe dream coaching replacement
The NBA is not in any way lacking in options with regard to brilliant basketball minds who could be ripe to function as a head coach. In fact, someone like Sam Cassell would do wonders as a potential replacement for Nick Nurse.
However, what’s stopping the 76ers from dreaming even bigger and waiting for the dominos to fall for someone like, say, Erik Spoelstra, from becoming available later on?
While the idea of Spoelstra ever leaving Miami seems laughable, the Heat are not necessarily in a stable phase right now. Since making the move to dangle Jimmy Butler away, they have lost six of their seven outings and now seem to be headed toward basketball purgatory.
Given the state of affairs in the East, the Heat could be out of the contention loop moving forward. Their core is simply not as good as many think it is, and the franchise’s peculiar inability to attract external talent only adds to their woes.
Should Miami decide to go for a full-scale reboot, that could make Spoelstra’s footing in Miami more feeble than before. And while there is nothing that curreently points to the Heat adopting that disposition, stranger things have happened in the NBA (even just this season). Perhaps a godfather offer could lure Spoelstra away from the Heat.
Clearly, we are just going for the heavy reaches right now, but it doesn’t inflict any harm to turn those pipe dreams into thinkable scenarios. There are not many who can properly guide the Philadelphia 76ers away from basketball hell in the foreseeable future, but if there’s anyone who can build a more sustainable and competitive program, it’s Erik Spoelstra.