Billy King spun the 76ers' head coach revolving door again yesterday , pushing out Jim O'Brien after just one season and bringing in Maurice Cheeks , the popular former Sixers player and assistant coach , as O'Brien's replacement .
pushing out
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Billy King spun the 76ers' head coach revolving door again yesterday , <m> pushing out </m> Jim O'Brien after just one season and bringing in Maurice Cheeks , the popular former Sixers player and assistant coach , as O'Brien's replacement .
http : / / articles . philly . com / 2005 - 05 - 24 / news / 25441279 _ 1 _ sixers - samuel - dalembert - 10 - win - improvement
Cheeks returns as Sixers' fixer Jim O'Brien was shown the door after a single tumultuous season .
Posted : May 24 , 2005
Billy King spun the 76ers' head coach revolving door again yesterday , <m> pushing out </m> Jim O'Brien after just one season and bringing in Maurice Cheeks , the popular former Sixers player and assistant coach , as O'Brien's replacement .
Nearly three weeks after the Sixers ended their season , King decided to fire O'Brien , who still has two years and $8 million left on the contract he signed when he was hired by the Sixers on April 21 , 2004 .
Cheeks , who was fired March 2 as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers , is the fourth head coach since King took over as the team's president and general manager on May 26 , 2003 .
That is the same date that Larry Brown resigned from the Sixers after six seasons , the last time coaching stability existed with the team .
Cheeks was a second - round draft choice of the 76ers in 1978 and played for 11 seasons with the team .
He was the point guard and floor leader of the Sixers' 1983 NBA title team .
At a news conference last night at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine , King said he had the support of Ed Snider , the chairman of Comcast - Spectacor , the team's owner , for his latest moves even though the Sixers will be paying ex - coaches Randy Ayers ( $2 million ) and O'Brien along with Cheeks next season .
"In talking with Ed , we felt the main focus was that we want to make the right decisions and not let money be the factor , " King said .
"We think we owe it to our fans and the city of Philadelphia to do that . "
Cheeks , 48 , a four - time NBA all - star while with the Sixers , was fired from the Blazers , his first head coaching job , in the middle of his fourth season .
He led the team to a 162 - 139 record .
Two years ago , after Brown resigned , King looked to Cheeks to take over as Brown's successor .
But the Trail Blazers rebuffed him three times , because Cheeks was still under contract to them .
The Sixers then hired Ayers , who lasted 52 games before being replaced by Chris Ford .
King said he decided on Saturday to fire O'Brien , and then checked with Cheeks to see if he'd be interested in the job .
Cheeks said he would be , and King called him again yesterday and reached a deal after notifying O'Brien of his decision .
Terms of the deal were not disclosed .
When King hired O'Brien , he had called him a "perfect fit" for the job .
O'Brien did lead the Sixers to a 43 - 39 record - a 10 - win improvement over the previous season - and a playoff berth and coached Allen Iverson to his fourth NBA scoring title .
But in evaluating the season , King said he didn't think the Sixers were heading in the right direction .
He had a problem with the team's style of play , which included reliance on the three - point basket and a defense that protected the paint but had trouble getting out on perimeter shooters .
There was also talk that O'Brien was aloof and not communicative with his players .
He did not start Samuel Dalembert , a developing young center , until the season's 19th game , and he did not play Willie Green with Iverson for much of the season's final four months because he felt that was a bad matchup defensively .
King said that in his postseason meetings with players , "not one of them said they wouldn't play for Jim . . .
that they'd all come back ready to go and try to go further in the playoffs . "
But other things bothered him .
King said he didn't want to make a snap decision when the season ended on May 3 , the day that the Detroit Pistons eliminated the Sixers from the playoffs .
He talked to his management team , went on vacation for a week , then made his decision on Saturday .
"In the interview process with Jim , there were a lot of things that we talked about , " King said .
"But in watching the season , evaluating our young players' development and evaluating our style of play , it wasn't something I was comfortable with . "
Reached by telephone yesterday , O'Brien declined to comment .
"I'm not going to have any discussion about this , " he said .
King said that when he broke the news yesterday to O'Brien , "He asked why , and I told him that I just felt there were some things that took place that I don't think will change and we're going to make a change .
He said , 'Thank you . ' "
Snider , who attended King's news conference , said he backed King .
"I really don't question Billy at all , " he said .
"I know what went on in the process when he made this decision , as well as the decision to hire Jim O'Brien .
I've supported his moves , and I still do . "
O'Brien was excited to come back to Philadelphia because of his roots in the city .
Cheeks , who is expected to speak at a press conference today , is excited to be coming back to Philadelphia because of all the success he enjoyed here as a player , followed by seven seasons as an assistant coach .
"Mo is family , " King said .
"Mo bleeds 76ers .
He bleeds Philadelphia . "
He is still the franchise's all - time leader in assists and steals .
Cheeks also played with San Antonio , New York , Atlanta and New Jersey before retiring in 1993 .
Cheeks returned to the Sixers in 1994 as an assistant coach and stayed for seven seasons until the Trail Blazers hired him as head coach on June 27 , 2001 .
Under Cheeks' guidance , the Blazers made the playoffs in 2002 and 2003 , but did not get out of the first round .
They missed the postseason in 2004 , breaking a streak of 21 consecutive years in the playoffs , and were wracked by dissension .
"I look at Mo Cheeks and I know Mo Cheeks , " King said .
"If players have problems with Mo Cheeks , then there's got to be something wrong with those players . "
Under O'Brien , the former head coach of the Boston Celtics , Iverson moved from shooting guard to point guard and responded with an MVP - caliber season , winning his fourth NBA scoring title .
But O'Brien is gone now .
Cheeks is in .
And King knows he's being held accountable .
"I look in the mirror every day , " King said .
"I'm not somebody that's above scrutiny , but I think I try to do the best I can and make the best decisions . "