Laimbeer, Majerle Added To 76ers' Search
The 76ers have scheduled a coaching interview with Minnesota assistant Bill Laimbeer, and with Phoenix assistant Dan Majerle.
Former Detroit Pistons star Bill Laimbeer, who won three championships coaching the Detroit Shock of the WNBA and is now an assistant with the Minnesota Timberwolves, is scheduled to interview Sunday for the 76ers' job, according to a source familiar with the situation.
At the same time, the Sixers--again widening their search for a successor to the fired Eddie Jordan--have also scheduled a Monday meeting with Phoenix Suns assistant Dan Majerle.
That makes it a really busy weekend for Sixers president/general manager Ed Stefanski and his staff, because the source confired earlier that they will meet with former Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell Sunday and Portland Trail Blazers assistant Monty Williams Monday.
Stefanski has been joined in each interview session by Sixers senior vice-president/assistant general manager Tony DiLeo and consultant Gene Shue, a former Sixers coach and general manager.
The Sixers initially met with TNT analyst and former coach Doug Collins, and with former Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson. They offered a meeting to ESPN analyst and former player Mark Jackson, but Jackson declined.
Laimbeer, one of the fabled Pistons' ''Bad Boys,'' won two championships in Detroit and was a four-time All-Star. Laimbeer, 52, was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1979, played a year in Italy, then was traded to the Pistons. He appeared in 1,068 games, averaging 12.9 points and 9.7 rebounds and was a career 49.8 percent shooter from the floor. He retired early in '93-94 as the Pistons' all-time rebounding leader.
He coached the Shock from 2002 to 2009 and joined the Timberwolves' staff this season.
Majerle, 44, played eight of his 14 seasons with the Suns and was inducted in to their "Ring Of Honor'' March 9, 2003. A first-round pick of the Suns in 1988, he appeared in 955 games, averaging 11.4 points. He spent four seasons as a Suns broadcaster before joining their coaching staff in 2008-09.
Williams is also scheduled to meet with the New Orleans Hornets. Jackson met with them earlier this week. Mitchell is a former Coach Of The Year with the Raptors.