Doug Collins announced on Thursday that he is stepping down from the position of head coach with the Philadelphia 76ers, foregoing the final year of his contract. He will not be leaving the organization, however, as he intends to take on the role of adviser with the franchise. The Sixers struggled to a 34-48 finish in the 2012-13 season and were out of the playoff hunt for a while before the season officially came to an end Wednesday evening.
This was supposed to be the year that turned the 76ers around, but instead it was one of their worst under Doug Collins. He says the issues did not only come from the failed Andrew Bynum trade but from forcing the team to rebuild twice in the same offseason. The Sixers approached the 2012 NBA Draft to fill the needs of their current roster, but those needs quickly changed when the deal for Bynum sent away Philadelphia’s two most athletic perimeter players in Andre Iguodala and the newly drafted Maurice Harkless. Philadelphia also sent Nikola Vucevic in the trade, who became a breakout player for the Orlando Magic.
The Sixers made the trade after establishing its team through the draft because it was tough to pass up Bynum, a young player who is one of two true big centers left in the NBA. Along with him came Jason Richardson, a solid outside shooter and veteran that could help mentor the younger 76ers. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, Bynum never suited up after it was revealed his knees were in much worse shape than they originally appeared to be, and Richardson was plagued by injuries all season as well.
That left the Sixers and Doug Collins with few options to succeed. Jrue Holliday was the team’s only star player, and calling him that is even a stretch. The Sixers do have Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young as well, but those three players are far from a championship nucleus. That appears to be why Collins decided to cut the coaching stint short. A team that knocked off the top-seeded Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 2012 playoffs and came just one win short of making the Eastern Conference Finals is now back to rebuilding mode.
While some were surprised to see Collins call it quits, it actually fits into his coaching resume pretty well. Collins, who is a former Philadelphia 76er himself, has never coached a team for more than three seasons.
