Ranking the 3 best options for 76ers coaching vacancy

2. Mike D’Antoni

Mike D’Antoni spent a brief amount of time on the sidelines with Joel Embiid as Brett Brown’s assistant before taking the Rockets job. He never got to coach Embiid when he was healthy and playing, but there is some baseline familiarity there. Plus, if ever there was a last ditch option to convince Harden to stay, it’s probably D’Antoni.

That’s not why D’Antoni is No. 2 on this list, however. Harden may be too far gone already and the Sixers can make their coaching decision based on the goal of keeping one rapidly aging, potentially discontent star. D’Antoni is here because he is arguably the greatest offensive coach of his generation.

It cannot be overstated the historic levels of dominance Houston achieved and sustained during D’Antoni’s run with Harden and Chris Paul. It also cannot be overstated the level of innovation sparked by D’Antoni’s run with the SSOL Suns in the 2000s. Both offensive systems were drastically different. The Suns ran, ran, ran; Houston went all-out on iso ball, letting Harden and CP3 dribble into eternity before generating a shot at the rim or a 3.

D’Antoni would probably have to lean toward the latter stylistically with Embiid in Philadelphia. And yes, there are valid concerns about D’Antoni’s track record with star bigs. But Embiid is not Dwight Howard. I’d be quite interested to see how Embiid operates as essentially a 7-foot guard under D’Antoni’s guidance, spending more time in space, attacking downhill with his speed and reading the defense with his chest toward the rim, rather than his back. Embiid’s sudden deference to post-ups in the Celtics series killed Philly’s offense. One has to imagine D’Antoni could prevent such things from happening again. He’s a definite risk, but a worthwhile one. Plus, Maxey running the second unit with D’Antoni at the helm is a fun thought.