Sixers coaching search: Rating Nick Nurse, Mike Budenholzer and Monty Williams' odds of landing in Philly
The 76ers are in the market for a new coach after firing Doc Rivers, who failed to get them out of the second round in three seasons. The team is still in the infant stages of its search, and has only been tied to a meeting with former Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse. Former Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer, Sixers assistant Sam Cassell, NBA legend Mike D’Antoni and former Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams are also considered frontrunners.
While the Sixers sift through candidates and decide who to hire, The Inquirer decided to take a deeper look at potential targets and create a coach meter to predict who will be selected. Our writers ranked the probability of each hire on a scale from 1-10. Where the Sixers land is still a crap shoot, so don’t hold these selections against us.
Sixers beat writer Keith Pompey
Mike Budenholzer: The two-time coach of the year led the Milwaukee Bucks to the 2021 NBA title. He also won four NBA titles as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs. He will bring championship pedigree. Hire meter: 9
Sam Cassell: The Sixers assistant is well respected in the organization, and has great relationships with Joel Embiid and James Harden. Having interviewed for several seasons, he’s primed to get a coaching job and excel in it. Hire meter: 7
Mike D’Antoni: D’Antoni is the two-time NBA coach of the year and has 672 coaching victories. However, the most intriguing thing about D’Antoni is that Harden thrived under him as 2018 MVP and a three-time scoring champion with the Houston Rockets. Hire meter: 10
Nick Nurse: The 2020 NBA coach of the year might be the best candidate because of his championship pedigree. He led the Toronto Raptors to the 2019 NBA title. Nurse also won two NBA Development League championships and two British Basketball League titles. Hire meter: 10
Monty Williams: Known for holding players accountable, Williams will demand the most from Embiid and Harden. The 2022 NBA coach of the year also transformed the Phoenix Suns from a struggling franchise into a 2021 NBA championship runners-up. Hire meter: 8
Sixers beat writer Gina Mizell
Mike Budenholzer: His Bucks teams have recently lived at the top of the Eastern Conference — including winning the 2021 NBA title — while blending an MVP with crucial role players. Were the last two playoff flameouts the result of unfortunately timed injuries, a sign of a player-organization relationship that had run its course, or a cause for caution in examining his candidacy? Hire meter: 5
Sam Cassell: This would maintain continuity, especially with Harden and Tyrese Maxey. And it would give Cassell the opportunity for which he has long awaited. But is this win-now roster worth the risk on a first-time head coach? If he is not the choice, whoever is hired would be wise to try to keep Cassell on staff. Hire meter: 5
Mike D’Antoni: This should help persuade Harden to re-sign with the Sixers, which is probably still the best short-term option instead of letting him (and the salary that can only be spent on him) walk in free agency. It would be fascinating to see what his offensive mind would unlock with a center who blends skill and power like Embiid. Hire meter: 8
Nick Nurse: Though Morey said during his postseason news conference that tactics can be “overblown” in the search process, Nurse’s schemes and game-plan preparation are high-regarded. He also has experience with taking a win-now roster that had hit its ceiling over the top, though it’s unlikely a star the caliber of 2018-19 Kawhi Leonard is also on his way to Philly. Hire meter: 6
Monty Williams: If the goal is to turn around Embiid’s “shock” that Rivers was dismissed, hiring a coach he already has a bond with would make a lot of sense. Williams is also a culture-setter with Finals experience, though the Suns’ last two playoff exits looked a lot like the Sixers’ Game 7 dud in Boston. Hire meter: 8
Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes
Mike Budenholzer: We’ve second-guessed many of the moves associated with “The Process” — missing on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum, trading Mikal Bridges, hiring Bryan Colangelo — but we’ve ignored what might have been if the Sixers had been able to hire “Bud” instead of Brett. Both were longtime Spurs assistants under Gregg Popovich who took head coaching jobs in 2013, Bud with the Hawks, Brett Brown with the Sixers. But while Brett plateaued as an excellent teacher of the game who couldn’t convince stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons be professionals, Bud won the 2021 NBA title with the Bucks and coach of the year honors with both the Hawks and the Bucks. The Sixers might never have convinced Pop’s top assistant to join them for the beginning of “The Process,” but they surely could have had him in 2018, when he left Atlanta. You’ve got a third chance, Sixers. This Bud’s for you. Hire meter:8
Sam Cassell: Cassell is a master in the calculus of efficient backcourt play and a fine communicator. He also spent the past nine seasons on Doc Rivers’ staffs, so it seems illogical that Morey would look to one of Doc’s top lieutenants as an improvement over Doc himself. That is, unless Embiid and Harden tell Morey to hire Cassell. Hire meter:3
Mike D’Antoni: D’Antoni was Brett Brown’s associate head coach in 2015-16, and, after that season, deposed Sixers GM Sam Hinkie recommended D’Antoni to Rockets GM and his mentor, Daryl Morey. He hired D’Antoni to oversee four years of not making it to the NBA Finals, including three years of not making it past the conference semifinals, which is the purgatory the Sixers wish to escape. D’Antoni likes to play with pace, which was feasible with a twenty-something James Harden in Houston but seems impossible with a 30-something Harden in Philly, not to mention road-graders like Embiid and P.J. Tucker. Hire meter:2
Nick Nurse: Nurse inherited a team that hadn’t gotten past the Eastern Conference semifinal the previous two seasons and took it all the way to the NBA title. Nurse that season also coached Kawhi Leonard, who is sort of weird. Assuming James Harden comes back, Nurse might be the perfect fit. Hire meter:9
Monty Williams: As a Sixers assistant for the 2018-19 season, Williams witnessed Jimmy Butler’s arrival, Markelle Fultz’s departure, Tobias Harris’ arrival, the beginning of Ben Simmons’ regression, and the Sixers’ quadruple-doink heartbreak in the Eastern Conference semifinal that left Embiid weeping in the arms of Marc Gasol on the court and in the arms of his fianceé in the locker-room tunnel. These experiences leave Williams far too scarred to be effective in Philly. Hire meter: 5
Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski
Mike Budenholzer: Budenholzer is the most accomplished available candidate. He has won an NBA championship and two coach of the year awards — one with the Bucks, one with the Hawks — and has won 60 games in a season twice. He has coached a superstar, Giannis Antetokoumpo, who is on or above Embiid’s level. He makes a lot of sense. Hire meter: 7.11
Sam Cassel: Cassel should be and likely will be an NBA head coach at some point. Probably soon. But because his ties are so close to Doc Rivers, that opportunity isn’t going to happen here. And it probably shouldn’t. Both Cassel and the Sixers could use a fresh start. Hire meter: 1.65
Mike D’Antoni: Good, innovative coach. Great guy. Wrong time. Wrong team. If James Harden stays, hiring D’Antoni would mean a redux of their Houston days, except both will be older, more familiar to the rest of the NBA, and easier to counteract. If Harden leaves, do the Sixers have the personnel to run the fast-paced style D’Antoni wants to run? Hire meter: 3.33
Nick Nurse: The best reason for the Sixers to hire Nurse is that he’s a smart coach who won a championship in 2019 with Leonard, Kyle Lowry, and the Raptors. The second-best reason for the Sixers to hire Nurse is that he has been everywhere and seen everything in his career: He has coached 15 teams in four countries. The third-best reason for the Sixers to hire Nurse is that it gives Sixers fans an excuse to read Nurse’s excellent memoir, Rapture, which he wrote with former Inquirer scribe Michael Sokolove. Hire meter: 7.23
Monty Williams: Williams is one of the most respected and admired men in the NBA, having withstood the worst kind of tragedy: His wife, Ingrid, was killed in a car crash in February 2016. Since then, he has managed to forge an excellent coaching career, leading the Phoenix Suns to three playoff berths, a 64-win season, and an appearance in the NBA Finals. But each of those three seasons ended terribly: The Suns lost four straight games to the Milwaukee Bucks in the ‘21 Finals and were blown out by the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets the subsequent two years. Still, he might have the character and personality to reach Embiid and the rest of the team. Hire meter: 6.75
Inquirer columnist David Murphy
Mike Budenholzer: Budenholzer’s teams have always played the sort of crisp, unselfish, ball-movement basketball that the Sixers need more of around Joel Embiid. Bucks were Top 8 in offensive rating throughout his tenure, first in the NBA in points per game his first three seasons. Can Giannis come with the deal? Hire meter: 7
Sam Cassell: I like Cassell. He’ll be a coach at some point. Probably a good one. The Sixers need a new voice. Hire meter: 1
Mike D’Antoni: Impossible to comment on this one without sitting in on the interview and being able to take the temperature of internal Harden-Embiid dynamics. I don’t think it would be good for business if Embiid thinks that the new coach is coming in as “Harden’s guy.” Just seems like a big risk to take on considering the guy hasn’t coached a game in three years and won’t be coaching the same version of Harden he had in Houston. That said, he’s worth talking to. Hire meter: 3 for now
Nick Nurse: I don’t know the details of Nurse’s departure in Toronto, but I do know that he is a smart, thoughtful, instinctive coach who has made the best out of his talent throughout his tenure with the Raptors. Remember, the year after the Raptors lost Kawhi Leonard, they won 53 games and took the Celtics to Game 7 in the (bubble) conference semis. Hire meter: 9
Monty Williams: Depends on what the Sixers are trying to accomplish. If they want Embiid to be comfortable, maybe Williams is the guy. And, hey, maybe Williams can help him grow in the ways he needs to grow to help the Sixers improve. But I’m prioritizing a new voice in the current search, and Williams isn’t new. Hire meter: 6
