Hello, Tom Thibodeau
The 76ers interviewed Boston assistant coach Tom Thibodeau today.
Hello, Tom Thibodeau
Now we can officially add Boston Celtics assistant coach to the list of coaching candidates who have gone through the interview process.
The Sixers confirmed that they met today with Thibodeau, who has been with the Celtics for two seasons, directly in charge of their defense. He has spent the bulk of his caeer on the staffs of the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets, and spent two seasons with the Sixers during the John Lucas era. He is also expected to interview with the Sacramento Kings.
It's hard to know a lot about his personality because, as a Celtics assistant, he was not permitted to speak with the media.
Thibodeau becomes the fourth candidate to be interviewed, following eddie Jordan, Dwane Casey and Kurt Rambis. Jordan, the former Washington Wizards and Kings coach; was first line. Casey, a Dallas Mavericks assistant and former coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Rambis, a longtime assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers, met earlier this week with Sixers president/general manager Ed Stefanski in Santa Monica, Ca.
Of Thibodeau, Celtics coach Doc R ivers said ''He's terrific, has unbelievable knowledge and has been so good for me and my staff. He knows the game, is a great teacher. In some ways, he's so good defensively, people overlook his overall knowledge.''
Thibodeau has been an NBA assistant for 19 years, but has never been a head coach.. He interviewed with the Kings after the 2007-08 season, but had no interviews after the Celtics won the championship in 2008-09.
Stefanski should look into Shippensburg University's Asst. Coach Mike Nestor. He was the Catholic League Defensive Player of the Year for the '94-'95 searson. Stefanski should be fired for two of the worst signings in Sixers history (Brand and way too much $ for AI), so he might as well give a fellow Bonner grad a shot.— TylerC- We should hire a bad coach so we can get the top draft pick the next couple of years. Where's John Lucus when we need him? Honestly, it's hard to improve in the NBA without getting some top draft picks. I don't want to keep being a .500 team who loses every year in the first round of the playoffs.— Dish
- Remember; the Celtics were able to stop Kobie and all others from the basket with Kendrick Perkins at center; though Garnett obviously helped. I wouldn't invision Sammy chasing guards at the top of the key under Thibadeau's approach. The 76ers also seemed to be aimlessly chasing their oponents on the perimiter in many games. Stephanski needs to find out how much Thibadeau knows about the offense though. In my opiion, he deserves the chance with Philadelphia; especially since I don't forsee the 76ers obtaining the outside shooters of either a Boston or Orlando in the near future.— petr
Comment removed.- It's called talent - we don't have a lot of it.— hugh
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.
