Doug Collins Resigns, Stays On As Adviser

Doug Collins officially announced his resignation today in a press conference with reporters and Sixers owner Joshua Harris. Collins, after a 34-48 season, decided he had enough. The now-former coach will stay on as an adviser to Harris on a 5-year deal. He previously had one year left on his contract.

Like many of his other press conferences, this one centered around Doug's life and his love for basketball, the city, and his family. He cited his age, his schedule, and time away from his family as the reasons for leaving, insisting that he would have left whether or not Andrew Bynum appeared in a game this season. Whether you believe that statement or not is up to you (my thoughts: HAHAHAHAHA no). He also routinely side-stepped questions about the state of the team as he left it and the relationship with his players.

But that's not to say there wasn't evidence of a strained relationship with the players - when asked whether or not he ever informed the players after the game about his resignation, he replied that he didn't want to and "had other things to do." Sheesh. And considering he revealed that he planned to resign two months ago to Harris, DiLeo, and Thorn, if I were a player that wouldn't have me feeling good. Then again, I'd probably be busy doing other things, like eating candy.

Interestingly, Harris focused on two things: expressing his regrets that Doug chose to leave, and stressing the team's commitment to analytics now and going forward, mentioning their use multiple times during the presser, including in his closing statement. He also stated that Tony DiLeo is the GM for now. But maybe most importantly, he indicated that he's do the Bynum trade over again if given the opportunity - stating that he had clearance from 4 doctors and MRI results that indicated that he should be okay.

So, Doug's officially gone as coach but still here as an adviser, Harris is talking up analytics, and DiLeo is the GM. All in all, that doesn't sound like bad news. But there's six months until the next game and lots of Sixersing to be done. Next up is finding a new coach.