76ers Coaching Change

Three weeks after the season ended for the Philadelphia 76ers the Sixers fired Jim O’Brien and replaced him with Maurice Cheeks; one of the most popular 76ers players in franchise history.

Cheeks was one of the most popular 76ers from 1978-89 and played on Philadelphia’s last championship team in 1983. He also spent seven seasons as an assistant coach for the 76ers, was part of the staff under Brown when they went to the NBA Finals in 2001 and developed a strong bond with Allen Iverson.

Cheeks was fired March 2 after nearly four seasons as coach of the Trail Blazers. He had a 162-139 record in Portland, the fourth-highest win total in Blazers history. Cheeks guided the team to the playoffs his first two seasons, but the players hardly made Cheeks’ tenure easy — on or off the court.

O’Brien just finished the first year of a three-year deal that included an option and paid him about $4 million a year. O’Brien, though, was not very popular with his players — most notably former All-Star Chris Webber — who often complained about their roles.

King said after the Sixers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Detroit that he planned to bring O’Brien back. After meeting with his players and other members of management, King had a change of heart and decided over the weekend he had to make a change.

Certainly, King knows a thing or two about making changes — Cheeks will be the fifth Sixers coach in four years under his watch. Larry Brown left for Detroit following the 2002-03 season, and assistant Randy Ayers was promoted and fired 52 games into the 2003-04 season before he was replaced by Chris Ford. #