Report: Sixers hire Dave Joerger as an assistant coach

It turns out that the rumors and rumblings of Dave Joerger were very real indeed. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that the former Grizzles and Kings head coach has agreed to join the Sixers as an assistant on Doc Rivers’ staff.

My first reaction to this news was that it’s a pretty fantastic hiring for the team. Joerger was mentioned heavily in rumors for head coaching jobs around the league, specifically in Indiana. The fact that the Sixers managed to get a talented assistant coach to go alongside Doc Rivers is pretty huge.

Dave Joerger is a great defensive-minded coach and can help mold the Sixers a defensive identity that they’ve lacked over the past few seasons. He was a major part in the development of Marc Gasol, who is a multi-time All-Star and former Defensive Player of the Year. It will be exciting to see what he can bring to the Sixers and more specifically, Joel Embiid.

Rivers is known for relying on assistant coaches to split up the duties of coaching the team. It’s very crucial that the Sixers do their best to surround Rivers with talented basketball minds in the coming weeks.

The Sixers will likely continue filling out Doc Rivers’ staff as head coaching jobs continue to dry up. His former assistant coach, Sam Cassell, will likely be in the running as the Sixers narrow down their search.

Cassell was recently interviewed by the LA Clippers, who have hired Tyronn Lue as their head coach. It was also reported that the Clippers are hiring former player Chauncey Billups as their lead assistant. This news definitely leads to speculation that Cassell could be Philly-bound within the coming weeks.

Now that the Sixers have a strong defensive mind on the team it’s possible they’ll prioritize adding a sharp offensive coach into the fold as well.

This move, along with the inevitable hirings in the future, likely means that Ime Udoka will take a job on another team. Udoka served as the Sixers’ lead assistant coach under Brett Brown last season.

The Dave Joerger hiring looks to be a fantastic move and fit with the Sixers. Now, we wait for some front office updates as the draft inches closer day by day.