The 76ers seem seriously done with their tanking effort. Not long after bringing in front office heavyweight Bryan Colangelo to oversee things, the team hired offensive guru Mike D’Antoni as an assistant coach to Brett Brown, according to ESPN.
The 76ers have one win on the season, and have a roster almost completely devoid of talent beyond rookie center Jahlil Okafor, and third-year big man Nerlens Noel. D’Antoni proved during his tenure with the Knicks that his style is ideal for crafting an above-average offense with low-ceiling players, and in Philadelphia describing the roster as “low-ceiling” qualifies as a significant understatement.
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D’Antoni has a long relationship with Colangelo, who owned the Suns when D’Antoni coached them, and also from his time as an assistant with Team USA. Philadelphia is on the verge of a regime change, which means the Sixers’ development over the course of the rest of the year could mean D’Antoni slides into the head coaching role next season.
If he makes an impact, however, D’Antoni may have other options, most notably in Houston. The Rockets fired Kevin McHale early in the season, and haven’t done much better since. Center Dwight Howard is rumored to be unhappy, and is expected to opt out of his contract. That’s not a killer for the Rockets if they have D’Antoni in mind, since he operates a fast-paced system revolving around 3-point shots and tempo.
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Those concepts would be music to the ears of guards James Harden and Ty Lawson, both of whom stand to benefit from that kind of approach. Harden is second in the NBA in 3-point attempts, and Lawson has struggled mightily this year, but has the speed to push the pace. As a team, Houston fired off the most 3-pointers (2,680) in the NBA, firing off 427 more than the Cavaliers.
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