More on Doc’s firing:

First things first, Doc absolutely had to be fired for the simple reason that there were too many good candidates out there. 50% of that list has won a ring in the last five years. That’s crazy. Talk about a cut-throat business, NBA coaching.

Some brief thoughts:

Mike Budenholzer 

Won it all with Milwaukee, yes, but a spotty track record outside of that triumph. You’d have to really think hard about that when considering Bud. He’s had some big letdown seasons.

Sam Cassell

Hiring Doc’s assistant might be a tough one in the optics department. It seems as though the players really like him, and he shouldn’t have to be negatively impacted by the stank of his predecessor, but it’s impossible to know on paper how much different the Sixers would look with Cassell in charge vs. Doc. He is certainly qualified however, and deserves a serious look.

Mike D’Antoni

Obviously there’s the James Harden connection, but I think this ship has sailed.

Nick Nurse 

Would be hilarious to see Nurse coaching Embiid, but I think it would be a great hire. Nurse does have a connection with Daryl Morey as well, going way back in the Houston setup (he coached their G League team), but he’s just a solid coach who has Xs and Os acumen and seems to have the respect of the locker room as well.

Frank Vogel

Eh. He’s a local guy and won it all with LeBron in the bubble, but Vogel doesn’t do much for me. You?

Monty Williams

Brett Brown’s former assistant. A veteran who did a fantastic job in Phoenix. Would definitely welcome him back.

The other guy not on the list who keeps coming up in discussion is Jay Wright. Nobody seems to have any clue if Jay will come out of retirement, and even then, coaching Jalen Brunson in New York might be the preference. There’s also Dawn Staley, but she always seems to mentioned more by fans than media/insiders, so it’s hard to know whether or not she’s someone the Sixers would actually contact, and we’ll give her an asterisk in regard to the story headline. Certainly she’s got a ton of experience and is local as well, so I can get behind a Staley interview.

My preference, I’d probably rank the coaches we mentioned like this:

  1. Jay Wright
  2. Nick Nurse
  3. Monty Williams
  4. Mike Budenholzer
  5. Sam Cassell
  6. Dawn Staley*
  7. Frank Vogel
  8. Mike D’Antoni

What say you?