Luukko Denies Predetermined Decision On Jordan
The chief operating officer and president of Comcast-Spectacor says that there has not been a predetermined decision on the status of 76ers coach Eddie Jordan.
Luukko Denies Predetermined Decision On Jordan
Peter Luukko, the chief operating officer and president of Comcast-Spectacor, told the Daily News this morning that the company has not made a predetermined decision to fire 76ers coach Eddie Jordan.
Luukko, in essence, denied a report in the Inquirer saying that a decision has already been made about the Sixers' first-year coach.
Jordan is holding a contract believed to be for four years, with the first three guaranteed.
''No, we haven't,'' Luukko said. ''We have not done any of that. I've had a lot of people telling me things, and I'm getting calls, but we have not made a predetermined decision.''
The Sixers are 23-40 and have lost six of their last seven games going in to tonight's game against the Charlotte Bobcats at the Wachovia Center.
Luukko was upset that today's initial report indicated that the Sixers did not yet change coaches because the company had already fired Flyers coach John Stevens earlier in the hockey season.
''John Stevens is a good man; he is not a factor in any of this,'' Luukko said.
A source familiar with the Sixers' situation said that management was more likely to make a coaching change after evaluating things at the end of the season rather than try and finish with an interim coach.
''That would only change if the wheels really fell off,'' the source said.
The source also said that, at this point, management seemed unsure about who to pursue as the next coach. One possibility became available Tuesday when Mike Dunleavy, who had already stepped down as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, was also relieved of his duties as general manager. There will also be the inevitable speculation about possibly bringing back Larry Brown if he does not remain with the Bobcats; there has already been speculation linking Brown to the Clippers.
''We expected better results from the team,'' Luukko said, pointing out that the Sixers won 41 games last season under Maurice Cheeks and interim coach Tony DiLeo.
''The players seem confused, very confused,'' the source said.
If Brian Roberts is ultimately at fault, as opposed to Snider or Peter Luukko, then the fans should blame Roberts. Was it Roberts' decision to fire Pat Croce, or Ed Snider's? Many of the 76ers' problems stem from that firing, and the refusal to replace him.— 76erfn
Comment removed.
I'll come back to the Sixers under the following terms: 1. Fire Stiffanski and Mr. Princeton. 2. Hire Larry Brown as GM and Jay Wright as head coach. 3. Move Iggy, Brand, Dalembert, Green and Williams. Let Randy Ayers clean the balls. Lose the stupid Rabbit. Not asking for much, is it?- What the heck is a 'predetermined decision'? Anything predetermined needs no decision. Anyway...if they haven't decided to can both these clowns, they sure should. Why would Coach Brown come here? It doesn't take a genius to know the biggest problem here is lack of talent. And that problem probably can't be fixed for two years due to killer stupid contracts they did. It's a sorry situation.— PhillySubsMac
- I'd like to hear what the plan was when Jordan was hired. He's installing the Princeton offense and everyone is saying he doesn't have the players with the right skills to execute this style. Was that discovered AFTER Jordan was hired? Was that issue recongnized and the plan was to get the right players over time? A bunch of great coaches have been quoted as saying Jordan is a very good coach. Is the issue that he can't teach or does he have the wrong players? If they decide to go with a different style, is Jordan undable to teach that or is he just a Princeton offense guy? If Jordan knew when he was hired that he didn't have the right players and they had a strategy to deal with that and he stuck to the plan, how is it his fault that it didn't work out? If we don't know what the plan was, we can't assess how Jordan did.— MikeP
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.
