Mikhail Prokhorov and NBA team owners looking for new Head Coaches
Midway through the NBA Conference Finals, eliminated teams are now in offseason mode and teams who have fired their respective coaches are now in search for their new bench main tactician.
The Philadelphia 76ers, which finished the regular season with a disappointing 27-55 record, fired Head Coach Eddie Jordan right after the regular season. Sixers President Ed Stefanski said the Jordan’s Princeton Offense didn’t fit to their team’s available talent. Stefanski immediately inquired about the possibility of bringing Larry Brown back in Philadelphia but they did not receive any positive response.
According to multiple sources, Stefanski have interviewed TNT analyst Doug Collins, former Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell, and for Mavericks’ coach Avery Johnson to discuss the possibility of hiring one of them.
Right now, reports said that the Sixers will have a new coach by the end of this week. The Sixers have begun negotiating with Doug Collins and an offer has already been made and an answer is expected to be announced soon. The Philadelphia 76ers owns the second pick in the NBA Draft on June 24 and they are expected to pick College Player of the Year Evan Turner of Ohio State.
The New Orleans Hornets are also searching for their next head coach. The Hornets missed this year’s playoff after finishing the season with only 37 wins to go with their 45 defeats. They dismissed Byron Scott early in the season after losing six of their first nine games and was replaced by General Manager Jeff Bower, who will also not be returning next season to coach the Hornets.
General Manager Jeff Bower is interested to hire the service of Celtics Assistant Coach Tom Thibodeau who was very instrumental in the current success of the Celtics in the ongoing NBA Playoffs. Thibodeau was credited for the defense displayed by the Celtics in the first two rounds of the Playoffs defeating the Miami Heat in the 1st round, 4-1, and upsetting top seed Cleveland Cavaliers 4-2. The Celtics leads the Magic, 2-0, in the ongoing Eastern Conference Finals.
The Hornets have also interviewed Utah Jazz assistant coach Tyrone Corbin, Blazers’ assistant coach Monty Williams, former New Jersey Nets coach Lawrence Frank, Dwane Casey of the Dallas Mavericks, Doug Collins and Avery Johnson for the vacant position.
Former NBA coach and TNT Analyst Mike Fratello also expressed his desire to coach the Cris Paul-led Hornets. Fratello said that he’s sure that there are lots of people interested to coach the Hornets mainly because of Cris Paul. "I'd love to talk to them if they want to. I’m just sitting here hoping that somebody, somewhere, thinks I'm the right person. I'd love to talk to somebody about potential jobs that are out there." Fratello said.
The Chicago Bulls, which will be a potential destination for Lebron James if he decides to leave Cleveland, are also looking for a replacement for Vinny Del Negro.
Del Negro, who had physical and verbal altercations with John Paxon during the season, was fired, as expected, after the Bulls suffered two consecutive first round exits in the Playoffs. Bulls General Manager Gar Forman said that they are not rushing to find Del Negro’s replacement and that the Bulls are looking for a coach with Playoff experiences.
Jeff Van Gundy is said to be one of the frontrunners for the vacancy and the former New York Knicks coach also expressed his desire to land the job. "I would say it's a very good job," he said. "If you look at it from the standpoint of they have at least a very good player in Derick Rose.” Jeff Van Gundy said.
The New Jersey Nets are also expected to start interviewing prospective coaches after new owner Russian Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov said that Kiki Vandeweghe will not return to the team next season.
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