IS STOCKPILING DEFENSEMEN
As you would expect, Maurice Cheeks was gracious and thanked everyone associated with the 76ers organization in his first meeting with the media since he was fired Saturday.
The Sixers were 9-14 at the time the move was made and Cheeks had a record of 122-147 and one playoff appearance in three-plus seasons.
“The bottom line is you have to win games when you take this position,” he said. “You understand what it is about. A lot of things in this world are just not fair, but I’m not going to get into the blame game. There is no point to it for me.”
Cheeks said he was interested in continuing to work for the team, although he did not know what might be offered to him or what his duties might be. Team president/general manager Ed Stefanski had indicated his desire for Cheeks to remain with the team in some capacity.
“No one who gets fired feels good about it,” Cheeks said. “I would suspect the Sixers organization doesn’t feel good about it. I’ve been in the city a long time, with the exception that I got traded five times. My allegiance is here. I would rather not have to go somewhere.”
Cheeks said he did not know whether he would be a head coach again after his stints with Portland and the Sixers, but said, “to step away for a little bit is healthy thing.”
For now, Cheeks’ immediate plans are a trip to Miami, which is where he was heading before Sixers PR director Michael Preston had asked him to talk to the media.
“It’s still going to be 80 degrees tomorrow,” Cheeks said, smiling.
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
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