PHILADELPHIA -- Will Maurice Cheeks be back on the sidelines for the Sixers next year?
It's only natural for this storyline to surface now, in the deadest period of an NBA season for a nonplayoff team.
On Jan. 8, former Sixers coach Larry Brown was officially rehired by the organization as the team's executive vice president. At the time, Brown's return was buried under Allen Iverson trade and Chris Webber buyout headlines.
Now that a calm has settled over the organization, the rumors are beginning to grow louder that Brown's presence could mean the end for Cheeks.
Known as much for being a teacher of the game as he is for being an NBA nomad who suffers from a chronic coaching disease that sends him from one town to the next at any given moment, Brown could return to the sidelines. Or -- as some others have suggested after hearing that Brown had attended Villanova practices and the Wildcats game in Storrs, Conn., Thursday -- maybe Brown is scouting 'Nova coach Jay Wright as Cheeks' successor.
Sixers team president Billy King said Brown, who turns 67 in September, was simply scouting the University of Connecticut (possibly 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet). When asked about the possibility that Cheeks would be let go at the end of the season, King said, "My whole thing is (Cheeks) is under contract."
To be accurate, King's initial reaction when asked about the speculation was to sort of laugh and offer a perplexed look as if to say, "Where is this stuff even coming from?' "
Although he could be hiding the truth, my gut says King is being honest. Because why does Brown being back have to mean he'll eventually coach here again?
And why should Cheeks be the odd man out?
Cheeks is a coach the organization wanted enough that they agreed to discard (but keep paying) Jim O'Brien after just one year, while also knowing they'd have to deal with the reputation of being a team that employed five different head coaches in less than three years.
In his first season as head coach a year ago, Cheeks did not lead the Sixers to the playoffs. In case you haven't been paying attention, they aren't headed to the postseason this year, either.
If you want, you can read that as two strikes against Cheeks. I'd argue that this season is a wash since the roster has undergone Extreme Makeover: NBA Edition in the last 10 weeks.
With two malcontent veterans gone and a team now more likely headed up than down, Cheeks deserves a chance to show what he can do with this young and improving roster in 2007-08.
Since New Year's Day, the Sixers are 13-16 (a .448 winning percentage). Of course that's not exactly playoff worthy, but it is improvement over what was a dreadful start to the season.
The credit obviously goes to guys such as Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala, but don't ignore Cheeks. The egos and personalities of modern day professional athletes can be fragile. Given that, and all of the doom and gloom this team has gone through this season, the coach has kept the players upbeat.
"I think it starts from the coaches. They've been doing a great job of it, Mo and the assistants," Willie Green said when asked if it was the coaches or players who have kept the team on track through the turmoil and negativity that defined November and December.
When asked if he'd like to see Cheeks back, Green, without hesitation, said, "Definitely."
I don't see why not. Given the roster he has to work with, I don't see how anyone can really improve our record. I mean, maybe a couple more wins here and there, but nothing too drastic. Unless we can get someone like Pat Riley or Phil Jackson, I don't see any reason for us to fire Mo Cheeks.
Larry Brown has been going to Villanova road games, so the fact that he lived close so he could watch home games is out the window. I think he's scouting Jay Wright.
I think Jay Wright is a really good coach, but I'm not sure how he would translate to the NBA. I generally don't like the idea of the college coach making the transition. Looking at college though, one of Billy King's favorites Tubby Smith is most likely nearing the end of his tenure in Kentucky. I could see them going for him.
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I think he will be back next year. I personally think he sucks as a coach. I don't think anything is expected from us so there's really no reason to fire him. I'd give him 2 more seasons tops and then they will can him and bring whoever they want in.
I think he deserves one more year. The Sixers need to pick a coach and stay the course with him as oposed to the revolving door strategy they have been employing in the years previous to Mo. Let's see how he works with a team that will hopefully have some talented draft picks injected into its core.
And why O'Brien was fired? I always wanted to know what happened... I think that he is better than both Mo Cheeks and Doc Rivers
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Half of the players hated him. Sam Dalembert straight up wouldn't resign if he was the coach.
Thanks for the information!
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Should Cheeks be back next year?
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