Are the Sixers an Appealing Location for a Coach?

With Doug Collins on his way out, people are already shaking their fists and sifting through documents over who the Sixers will replace him with. I've tried to resist (it's been like 12 hours so I haven't done a very good job) just because it's a long, long process and I want to take a breath to celebrate the fact that Doug is gone and change is a good thing, especially after this wet scrotum of a season. But alas, here we go.

Tom Ziller went over a few coaching options the Sixers could bring in -- we'll have our own preferred list in the coming days/weeks/months/seasons -- but the names that jump out right away are Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer, Pacers associate head coach Brian Shaw, and Warriors assistant Mike Malone. I'm pretty much on board with any assistant who has worked with a successful offensive coach. Derek's concern about a coach's willingness to focus on player development at his first coaching gig is a very valid one.

So would they want to come here? If you remember the Sixers GM search last year (still hoping Intern GM gets a job somewhere -- that guy got ALL the college credit for his work last summer), Thorn and company had a tough time finding a guy who wanted to work with Doug Collins and Doug Collins' ego. Danny Ferry, Tom Penn, and Mike Zarren all *seemingly* turned down the job because it wasn't desirable.

Will that happen with a coach? Maybe. The Sixers are located in Philadelphia, which isn't a great start, and this'll be their 8th coach since Larry Brown left in 2003. They have Jrue Holiday and Thaddeus Young and the prospect of gambling on Andrew Bynum. That's pretty much it. All the talk about the storied Sixers history and however-most wins in NBA history is immaterial. Nobody will care about that.

The coaching carousel is a delicate thing because I'd like the Sixers to be quite patient and thorough in their coaching search, but at the same time, they could miss out on some of the ones who get snapped up quickly.

It's a balancing act, and I hope the Sixers are more flexible than we think they are. Gymnastic pun!