You asked for it, and Stefanski has delivered. According to ESPN and Stephen A. Smith, Maurice Cheeks has been fired today. Assistant general manager Tony DiLeo will be the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. – Source
Wow, I thought he had one more game to lose against a poor team tonight. But Stefanski pulled the hook now. He said no patience, and he seems to be sticking with that mentality.
I know there are a lot of questions now that Cheeks is gone. Here are my top 5 and my quick thoughts on them…
1. Why did he fire Mo Cheeks NOW?
This is subtle but important. I really think Stefanski fired Cheeks at this precise moment not only because they lost three straight and 8 of their last ten games, but because they are going into a stretch of 4 games against equally as bad opponents (Washington twice, Milwaukee and Indiana – although I like Indiana this season). This will give the interim coach a better chance to work some things out not having to face the likes of Boston, Utah, Houston, Denver, San Antonio and Dallas who are up next (all on the road no less, except for Houston) after this weak 4-game stretch. Makes sense to ease the interim coach in if you are trying to salvage the season rather then toss him to the wolves.
2. Why did Stefanski decide to go with Tony DiLeo instead of a current assistant or outside option?
I honestly just think Stefanski doesn’t trust any of the assistants enough to take over the team for the remaining 59 games. He could (should?) have fired Maurice Cheeks and all the assistants when he first game in as the new GM, but he didn’t. These aren’t “his guys,” but he is stuck with them for now. DiLeo was probably the guy he respected and trusted the most that has coaching experience. And you rarely see an out-of-work coach come in during the middle of the season when games need to be played and won immediately. Also, you would have to pay the new coach AND Mo Cheeks’ salary. Quick fix, and I think it was the best one considering who the assistants are.
3. What are Stefanski’s thoughts on the remainder of the season?
Is he going to try and salvage this season with DiLeo as the head coach? Will he just use it as another evaluation period like he did last year when he told Mo to play the young guys and run, run, run to determine if he committed to the right players this past off-season? I think it will be a combination of both actually. DiLeo will carry out whatever initiatives Stefanski sets forth with little interference so that works in both cases. If Ed’s vision is effectively carried out by DiLeo it could mean a turn of future for the Sixers going forward. At least we can hope. He will also be able to evaluate these guys within the context of the vision he had for the team when he signed these big ticket players without Mo getting in the way. Which leads to my next question…
4. Are player moves next?
This is a tough one to determine. He said no patience so you have to imagine that extends to the players as well, right? But, if he starts moving guys he signed this summer it will make it look like he made mistakes. Sometimes stubbornness and ego get in the way of what is right, which could very well mean trading an Elton Brand, Louis Williams or Andre Iguodala. I think we have to give Stefanski credit in that respect. I don’t see him as the guy that will hold onto guys that aren’t working just to keep from looking silly, having paid these guys too much for too many years. I am still confident Stefanski will do whatever it takes to make this team better now and in the long run. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait too long.
5. Who is Tony DiLeo and what will be bring to the table?
Tony DiLeo coached in West Germany for 10 seasons before joining the Sixers staff for the 1990-91 season. He coached the West German men’s and women’s teams from 1979-90, winning nine national titles in the country’s top division. DiLeo was selected as the West German federation National Coach (1981-85) and the country’s coach of the year in 1987. – NBA.com DiLeo has been a major part the Sixers’ recent drafts that netted us Thad and Speights. He is a solid talent evaluator so let’s hope he can quickly recognize what we got and put them in the best situation to succeed. I am going to dig a bit more on DiLeo to see what else I can find about his experience.
Press conference scheduled for this afternoon (around 5pm). A new day, and I get to be there for the first game under the new interim head coach – nice.
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yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
ssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Super stoked.
Tony DiLeo, ehh, but at this point I don’t care who the coach is as long as it’s not Cheeks. Stefanski obviously has a plan and a trade is probably on the way.
YES!
2 Words
Avery Johnson
He is a tough guy who had a pretty good offensive AND defensive system in Dallas. I don’t know if he would be a perfect fit, but I do know he is a great coach.
They made Dileo the interm coach?
Greek-yes.
WOW! Ed does not mess around! Now it is up to the team to turn it around. If not, Players will be moved!
sfw
I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw players moved very, very soon.
Jordan, Ed’s a shrewd guy. I suspect he wanted Mo not to be Mo and Mo couldn’t/wouldn’t change. Ed brought in these players and must think it should work. TD will have the Sixers playing the style that Ed wants. He’ll give them 5-10 games and then make moves if deemed necessary. A caveat may be that Ed already wants a change and just hasn’t pulled the trigger. In that case you may very well be right. Should be interesting to watch!
There are some players that have King’s fingerprints all over them and I suspect those are the players likely to be moved.
Willie Green, Andre Miller and Sammy D.
My head is facing I am feverishly writing them all down. Will have some stuff for you guys to ponder in a little bit.
sam’s contract is nearly impossible to move though.
Check this out.
http://www.nba.com/sixers/features/dileo_081208.html
Germany’s coach of the year! Guess he has a coaching background!
SFW – Stop beating me to the punch on my own blog! haha
I hope ES has eliminated entire coaching staff, though he’s probably not. (Way stale. Enough of the nostalgia hires; they haven’t worked out.) And I hope he’s got a better plan than DiMeo around the corner. Sixers need a coach that’ll have players’ attention moment he walks through doors. Avery Johnson, certainly a good name to consider. Need his like at least - a guy with NBA pedigree, fire, driven focus, strong communication skills and a clue.
Sorry, Dannie! You & Pete are doing a fantastic job. Really appreciate. I’ll shut up. Taking a walk! Visit later. Look forward to reading later.
DiMeo is as inspirational as brussel sprouts, and was a mediocre guard at LaSalle in 70s. How are players gonna jump at his instructions? Get the firing (Good decision, Ed.); don’t get the replacement … at least yet.
JJG – It’s DiLeo
who else do you suggest? jim lynam? you don’t hire big name coaches in the middle of the season. ES will get someone in the summer.
stephen a smith reported that eddie jordan will be the next coach after dileo. not exactly sure how he knows that.
Mike - Two main reasons why Eddie Jordan is a good educated guess as the next Sixers head coach. Stefanski already has a relationship with him when Jordan was an assistant at New Jersey. Two, Jordan is known for be a strong offensive coach which this team needs. I would look for him to search long and hard for his top assistant to compliment that by being a defensive coach with a proven/promising defensive scheme along the lines of Tom Thibodeau in Boston next to Doc Rivers.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Jordan was a leading candidate. He was just recently let go from the Wizards, so he is still very familiar with the current NBA landscape. Henry Abbot of ESPN’s TrueHoop blog had some good words to say about Jordan at the time :
(After seeing Jordan speak at the 2002 Rookie Transition Program)
“I’m certain that if you posted his ten or so points on the inside of your locker, and made it your business to follow them, you could be a very good NBA player. It was terrible, in a way, not to be an NBA player after his talk, just because I wanted so badly to put his excellent advice to good use. Anyway, I came away from that day convinced that if smarts, toughness, leadership, and eloquence can get you far as an NBA coach, then Eddie Jordan would go far.”
Two Reason’s I’m Surprised Eddie Jordan Was Fired
Off the top of my head, the only other possible candidates would be Jeff Van Gundy (probably not interested), Sam Mitchell (I would avoid at all costs), and Avery Johnson (probably feeling frisky). What others are out there?
I agree with Dannie. I’m not sure of the available defensive geniuses at assistant coach though.
oh yea i forgot they were together in new jersey.
Thanks for correction, Dannie. I did know that. Good pick; now I have a clean look! Tony DiLeo.
No to Jim Lynam. Good guy, but sun has set on head coaching days.
If the big name coach you want is interested and available, there’s no rule governing timing. This team has some talent and it’s only 23 games into season. Also seats to fill. It’s no time to tread water with a conservative approach.
This move resembles Phillies GM Paul Owens moving from “upstairs” to dugout in 70s to get a feel for who should be kept and who should go.
Once Stefanski gets a satisfied mind on that, he’ll choose his director,
hopefully one with some Dallas Green in him.
What an early Christmas gift for Sixers fans and Tony DiLeo is an assistant GM for Ed and a long-time assistant GM for the Sixers. Now, appropriately with the Sixers facing the Wizards tonight, Stefanski would most likely make Eddie Jordan the next head coach next summer!
Dannie, if you have anyway to speak to Washington Sports Bloggers, you should definitely ask what they think about Jordan and whether it would be a great fit for the Sixers. Just to get a real perspective of the idea! Plus, it is fun to hear from people in the nation (as well as Canada).
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3766766
Again, December is Judgment Day for the Sixers!!
GO SIXERS AND PLAY WITH EXTREME ENERGY!!!
Rob- Straight from the Wizard Blogger’s mouth…
“Eddie is a better Xs and Os guy, and like I said with jsams, if that’s the real problem, then Eddie will help. The only thing I’m saying is that you will still see your young guys buried behind underproducing veterans. It’s something we’ve seen for years in D.C. The quality of said youngsters is irrelevant, because they are clearly outperforming the veterans.If you’re still cool with that (which it sounds like you are now), then Eddie fits in well. He is a better coach than Cheeks. But don’t expect Eddie Jordan to cure all the teams’ problems.”
and
“Eddie’s a good fit. Very good Xs and Os guy. Not good with player rotations and such.”
and
“The point is that Eddie Jordan has displayed in D.C. that he is unwilling to play the younger guys who are outproducing their veteran counterparts. Nick Young did not start over DeShawn Stevenson. Andray Blatche was buried behind Darius Songaila. Hell, JaVale McGee didn’t start for the longest time over Etan freakin Thomas.”
Pradamaster from Bullets Forever
I sent an email after Wednesday night lost to the sixers season ticket department. This team sat around and gave the Cav’s the game at the end. Mo made too many bad decisions game after game. Great guy but good guys don’t finish first. Sixers expectations were too high for this trash playing on the court. Finally a GM that demands results! thank you Ed!
I’m not even worrying about the next head coach. Not right now. There is still this season to worry about. But I will address this point in a near-future post.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!! The day of glory has arrived, Mo is ouuuuuttttaaaaa heeeerreeee!!!
*cough* Had to get that out of my system.
Mike: Why not hire a new non-interim coach midseason? Id far rather hire an e stablished coach, where he has no pressure and can tinker around the first half year…and then come into the 09-10 really knowing what we have, and everyone on the same page with a new system, and what to do with our player personell.
Avery: PERFECT mentality for this team…tough, demanding, disciplines, good communicator. Other strengths: great X/O’s guy…great at teaching floor spacing…not afraid to get into players faces to get them playing to their potential…excellent at teaching half court offenses as well as fast breaks. From the three years we saw of him at Dallas…he will get his teams to EXECUTE.
What scares me: Avery set up a very jumpshot or oriented team with the Mavs. We don’t have the same types of players as Jet, Stack, Dirk, Howard, D Harris, etc with good mid range J’s.
Eddie Jordan: Living in DC for the past 8 years, I’ve had a LOT of chance to see EJ. The only reason he was fired from the Wiz was that they needed to make a change…it had been too long, too many injuries, not enough attention to defense. I REALLY like him as a coach though…all the players love playing for him, he knows how to exploit defenses…REALLY knows how to take advantage of players’ individual strengths, especially against mismatches. He also really stresses the importance of a player with talent to be aggressive ALL the time on offense…not an accident Caron Butler broke out under DJ. Also believes in an offense that is motion based…lots of screening, moving withoutt the ball, quick passing.
What scares me: Not exactly a defense first coach.
I think it’s a big mistake to keep DeLeo as interum for longer than a month…we should get our long term coach sometime in January.
Dave T – I somewhat disagree about bringing in the new coach form the outside immediately but am going to the game now so I will elaborate later.
Why would he name him as the coach for the rest of the year when he didnt have to, will go down as a mystery!