5 Sixer Coaching Candidates To Look Out For

The Brett Brown Era is officially over after seven seasons. Despite his dismissal being overdue, Brown is the franchises best head coach since Larry Brown (unless there are Doug Collins fans out there.) What can’t be denied is that Brett Brown was the third longest tenured coach in franchise history and would have tied Al Cervi and Billy Cunningham’s record for team longevity had he stayed another season.

So even though he underachieved, the next Sixers coach will have big shoes to fill and will be expected to help Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons reach their true potential. Considering that sports are barely back, it may take awhile for a new coach to be hired. So in the meantime here are five potential head coaching candidates to look out for.

Jay Wright

The big one. In a city with championship coaches like Doug Pederson and Joe Girardi, Villanova’s Jay Wright is considered the best coach in Philadelphia. With two National Championships Wright is also one of the most respected coaches in college basketball, but is also still young enough (58 years old) to try a stint in the NBA if he wants to. While he’s been loyal to Nova for two decades and has resisted offers from bigger schools and other NBA teams, the Sixers should still dial his number to at least see whether or not he’s interested.

Tyronn Lue

Just think of all the Stepover memes and tweets that will come out if the Sixers hired the recipient of arguably their most iconic moment in franchise history. Despite not having a head coaching job at the moment, Tyronn Lue is one of only 7 NBA champion coaches who are not retired yet. Unfortunately he gets little credit for his championship because teammates and coaches for LeBron James tend to get no credit. Despite his ring and the inevitable Stepover memes, Lue probably won’t get Philly too excited for a basketball revival.

Kenny Atkinson

The coach of the last team the Sixers defeated in the playoffs, Kenny Atkinson did a fine job in turning the Brooklyn Nets into a legitimate playoff team. The same franchise who spent a long stretch without a 1st round pick (wonder who was using those picks?) got a boost from Atkinson’s coaching and use of players like D’Angelo Russell and Caris LeVert. The Nets turnaround was so impressive that they won the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Erving sweepstakes last year. Unfortunately Durant and Erving were also not too keen on Atkinson so Brooklyn fired him. For a coach whose managed to get the most out of decent players, the Sixers would benefit immensely from his coaching.

Sam Cassell

Anyone who watched the NBA in the ’90s and 2000s remembers Sam Cassell as a gritty role player for teams like the Rockets, Timberwolves and Clippers. Since retiring Cassell has served as an assistant coach for the Wizards and Clippers and is ready to make the step as head coach. Interestingly enough he saw the peak and downfall of the LOB City Clippers. Like the Sixers, those Clipper teams had a ton of potential but injuries and bad luck had them fall short of making a trip to the Conference Finals. Maybe hiring Cassell could lead to the Sixers rebounding the way the Clippers did.

Ime Udoka

While promoting someone from within hasn’t worked out on an executive level, hiring the next head coach from within could work for the Sixers. Ime Udoka just joined the coaching staff as an assistant who, like Brown, was a long-time Spurs assistant coach. While he might not have the clout or allure of a big name coach, it looks like it’s only a matter of time before Udoka becomes a head coach himself. So why not make the head coaching transition smooth for the Sixers and hire Udoka?