The 76ers traded their lone All-Star, Jrue Holiday, for a rookie and a draft pick. They let their player with the most potential, Andrew Bynum, leave in free agency.
All signs say they’re not really interested in winning next season. It’s a sound plan – bottoming out to get better – but it’s a also a plan that makes the team’s coach next year season irrelevant, at least relative to other teams.
That’s part of the reason, along with the fact Sam Hinkie is in his first year as Philadelphia’s general manager, the 76ers are the last NBA team to hire a coach. Eventually, they’ll get around to doing it, and they just made a step forward.
Pinckney interviewed twice with the Grizzlies, and Griffin interviewed with the Pistons. They’re definitely two assistants on the rise.
The Bulls already lost assistant Ron Adams to the Celtics, so losing another assistant could hurt Chicago. But as long as Tom Thibodeau remains in charge of the Bulls, they’ll remain one of the league’s best-coached teams.