The Philadelphia 76ers are coming closer to hiring a head coach for next season, though the candidates being considered aren’t exactly household names. New general manager is bringing four NBA assistants in for a second round of interviews, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, all of which are without prior NBA head coaching experience.
The Sixers are scheduled to interview Boston Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, Atlanta’s Kenny Atkinson, Chicago’s Adrian Griffin and San Antonio’s Brett Brown for a second time this week in New York. All four will reportedly be meeting with Sixers’ managing partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, but they’re apparently not the only candidates the team is still considering as Portland’s David Vanterpool and current Sixers’ assistant Michael Curry are also still in the running according to Wojnarowski.
The coaching search has been an interesting process for Philadelphia, but one that should bring about good results considering the four coaches being brought back for a second round of interviews are all highly-respected. And aside from Curry, who has head coach experience with the Detroit Pistons from the 2008-09 season, the remaining candidates will all be first-time NBA head coaches.
Larranaga might not be the most familiar name of the group, but he’s is quickly rising up the ranks considering he only retired as a player following the 2008-09 season. The son of current Miami Hurricanes head coach Jim Larranaga spent two solid seasons as a head coach with the NBA Development League’s Erie BayHawks before joining the Boston Celtics’ staff this past season. He did a great job of helping current NBA players Ivan Johnson, Donald Sloan and Garrett Temple take their games to the next level during his two-year stint in the D-League while also leading the team to playoff appearances in both of his seasons.
The 38-year-old Larranaga also coached the Celtics’ Summer League team in July and was thought to be a potential candidate to take over for Doc Rivers before Boston hired Brad Stevens.
It’s apparent that the Sixers are looking to hire a young, development-driven coach that can also relate to their young group of players as Philadelphia builds toward the future. They likely aren’t going to be able to make a bad choice in that regard considering the coaches they’re reportedly considering, but Larranaga should certainly be one of the favorites when considering his past experiences.
