Deep Sixer

a rare thing for the sixers and mark...a good move and a good column ...and on the same day !!!!!!! now lets get a team to open the vault for miller and actually get something to build the future with not the 7th or 8th seed in the east (but both if possible)

Great news! Cheeks is good example of doing a lot with a little. Last nights game aside, the team has played hard and has been competitive. With Sam and Willie battling a stomach virus, I can understand the outcome. Anyone who plays ball knows it's no fun playing with intestine issues. I was angry at Sam last night because he showed no fight and got beat to every rebound till I read this morning that he was sick. This is a good move for the team to know that their coach is not going anywhere. It brings stability to a team who is playing for something now! I'm glad Ed saw what most of us have been saying (maybe not most of us, at least half of us)

VERY good move. Cheeks was dealt one of the hardest hands I've seen in Philadelphia, lose two star players and nearly make the playoffs in the same year. Cheeks even found a way to get Steven Hunter to listen to him!

I believe good NBA coaches have to be teachers anymore, and why not? Players are 1 year removed from High School, fundamentals aren't there although the ESPN highlight reels are. I truly believe he's one of the more underrated coaches in the NBA, he'll prove his worth as they grow toegther!

I give credit where credit is due.

Well done Mr. Stefanski. Mo deserved that extension for his performance over the last 2 seasons.

Smart move by the Sixers and a nice gesture for Cheeks, truly a class act...now if the team would only get rid of Bob Salmi and bring me back! Seriously, Salmi must go!

Amen to the ghost! Bring back Steve Mix!! If I have to watch the salmi-strator one more time I'm going to shoot myself....I miss the mayor of Mixville

An interesting question I heard on 950 AM last night... would you trade A. Miller back to Denver for Nene?

No chance I make that trade. Nene has a big contract and health issues. Not worth trading Miller.

You couldn't give Nene to me for a bag of basketballs. He's always hurt, had cancer, and has a monster contract. No.

Well, Mo's salary doesn't count towards the cap, so no harm if ES made the wrong decision here. Mo has been a good solider, and even though I find many of his moves questionable, and ES had to push him into a more logical style of play for this team, Mo has earned the shot to coach some more talent.

As far as Mo's extension, why the rush to do something now? He hasn't WON anything yet. He's never been to the playoffs with this team. And I still think his substitution patterns are irregular and his staff has done little to develop Dalembert into a low post threat.

I still can't get over his fascination with playing Kyle Korver at PF for the past two years, with the team getting hammered in rebounding and on the defensive end because of it.

I don't agree with this at all, but I think the 76ers need better talent to truly judge Mo Cheeks or any other coach. I think there are better coaches out there than Cheeks. Well, I guess the only thing for Stefanski to do now is to sit tight and not do anything at the trade deadline.

That would be the perfect followup to giving a coach who hasn't proved anything that he deserves to be around.

whatthehell,

I'm disappointed - I thought you'd lambaste this blog post. What else is Marc supposed to say? Let's say Marc thought Mo was an idiot - given Marc's job, could he say so? This is Marc's most useless blog post.

Dan C.,

You say Mo lost 2 superstars but was still able to get this team to compete. Well, when he had those 2 supposed "superstars", he couldn't do jack with them, and Mo was one of the reasons those 2 "superstars" left.

Mo got this extension because of this year's results, period. He was terrible the past two years, Sixers basketball was just putrid. If a coach is good, he makes do with whatever he's got, adapts, and first and foremost, in the NBA, doesn't clash with superstars. Whatever moves we do this offseason, we've gotta take Mo's strengths and weaknesses into consideration, and I personally don't like those restrictions.

There is plenty to criticize about the Sixers team but do we really need to be so harsh about this Blog and Marc?

Sixerzguy and Datruth:

I'd like to see the terms. Hopefully it is only a two year deal.

There is something to be said for continuity on a young team. Furthermore, Doc Rivers was a joke for years in Boston until he got Garnett and Allen. Certainly no one thinks Rivers suddenly became a better coach.

To repeat, this deal does not affect the salary cap if Mo continues to muck it up after he gets more talent, so I wouldn't get so worked up. Ed Snider can afford to pay yet another fired coach.

Rewarded for his loyalty? Cheeks is paid millions of dollars to coach a professional basketball team. It's a contract.

The timing is utterly baffling. He didn't need a vote of confidence because the team's been playing hard under him.

You have several excellent coaches available this summer - Skiles, Van Gundy, etc. If you don't like any of those you can always resign Cheeks. He's coached below .500 teams the last four seasons. It's not like he's going anywhere.

An option always has value. And Ed just extinguished it.

extending mo cheeks' contract and keeping andre miller are going to acheive mediocrity, at best. we have a truly special opportunity to build a CHAMPIONSHIP team. we have a good young core (iggy, thad, louis, jason) and we could have a TON of cap space if we traded andre miller. we could sign josh smith or gil arenas or make a play for heinrich or okafor or anyone we want. and we can hire a coach who understands X's and O's, rather than just 'getting guys to play hard'. but instead, we are going to enter next season with the same players/coach we have now. we will 30-35 games again. that's not progress.

As I have said before, Mo is a class gentleman, good leader of young men, high character guy, winning PG as a player.

Says alot about Eddie also...comfortable in his own skin...doesn't need to brng in his own guy when he knows for this team he has the right coach.

There are coaches for teams...Mo fits this team.

sixerzguy,

Many of us were calling for Iverson's departure prior to Cheeks' entrance. Remember the Chris Ford Interm Coach period? The consensus was that we couldn't match anyone up with Iverson and make a winner. From what I'm seeing in Denver, it still holds - they have Carmello, can't play D and will be passed in the playoffs easily.

Webber simply quit, wanted nothing to do with a young squad. Argue with me all you want, you'll never convince me that Chris Webber would have hung around and led this crew - give me any coach in the league in place of cheeks and the same situation would have happened. His "Contributor" role with the Pistons/Warriors is exactly the place he wanted to be in.

Cheeks is the right guy at the right time for this team, well worth the extension.

Scott Skiles? Really?

Kelvin Sampson should be available too.....

I agree with Weiss! Smart dude!

I'm so tired of explaining why we have enough cap room to get a Josh Smith type player this summer. Weiss, you'll just have to ask Dean.

The timing is interesting because after tomorrow, when the Sixers have made no moves, the rhetoric about Ed Stefanski would have been that he made one trade, period. So now he gets another move attributed to his time in office. Just an observation.

Mo Cheeks has been a face of the Sixers for almost 30 years. He was here for a long time as a player and then as an assistant coach. In my book he gets points for that. I loved watching him play 25 years ago and I appreciate him now. Was he the best choice? Perhaps not. Could somebody with more innate talent have done better? Perhaps. But he's the incumbent, and let's not forget the coaching instability that preceded him: Brown, Ayers, Ford, O'Brien all in rapid succession. Stability is a good thing in this case.

Skiles is a great coach. Sure, his style eventually wears out on the players - much like LB - but he's great at teaching a young team to win.

His teams have always been at or near the top of the league defensively. Offense in Chicago was a problem, but I think that's more on Pax than Skiles. He also plays fast, which suits the Sixers personnel and Ed's philosophy.

You have to remember this was his 5th year in Chicago. They needed a fresh start.

But you saw this year that when the team stopped listening to Skiles they were exposed for what they are - a bunch of solid role players.

I'm not saying you hire the guy - that obviously comes down to interviews, fit, etc. But he definitely would have been a strong candidate.

Couldn't agree more on Salmi - the worst. I think I can fix the entire Sixers organization if given the chance - I want to get all of your support to be hired as a consultant a la Larry Brown for the rest of the year. I can advise Ed, Mo and Lukko/Snyder on the appropriate personnel moves (trade/FA/Draft), coaching style/areas to improve, marketing strategy and so on and so on. Lets go, I want the support. I promise to make getting Sammy out of here my first order of business.

My immediate reaction is yet again related to timing- that is, tommorrow is the trading deadline, and Ed's more, or so I would think, time constrained priority of tasks would remain FOREMOST and EXCLUSIVELY w GM talk around the clock thru Thurs. NOT COACH EXTENSIONS. Not that Ed cant capably multi-task, still..."smell a rat"?

Could this not have been formalized Friday? Why today? Odd timing, but seems Ed has a tendency that way....As others have noted, is this the prelude to "Operation Tank"?

haha. Good for Mo..I think

Mix wore out his welcome. Felt like a 5th grader listening to his lecturing about the basics. Every game was analyzed exactly the same AND he never criticized AI when he made mistakes(Shot selection, etc). I guess he feared for his job. I couldn't stand that chuckle.

Salmi is very fair about his criticisms and praise. He calls it as he sees it and doesn't exclude anyone. The game is now being called with a level of intelligence.

It's easy for an announcer to wear on you when your listening to them almost every night but I'd take Salmi over Mix any time.

Morty, please explain how we can sign josh smith this summer. i have been through the numbers extensively. depending on what we pay iggy/louis, i think we will have about 10mm of cap space. i think atlanta would match that amount.

but even if we CAN sign josh smith, we could then use miller's money to go after calderon or a player we like who is on the upside of his career.

I am in on operation tank - Derrick Rose.

The best trade I could hope for is to trade Zumoff and Salmi to SEA for Callandro and Snapper. Throw in cash, and a second rounder. Then I could relieve my MUTE button of its overworked duties, and actually be entertained and informed regardless of a game's relative level of interest.

sign and trade

Hugh:

We're gonna have to lose 2/3 at the least. Are you up for it?

Mo gets 1year and an option year after that. Ed made a good move. Give Cheeks some players next year and see what he can do with a real team. If he does better next year, pick up the option for the next year. If he does even better the next year, sign him to a three - four year deal. If he does the same or worse next season, he is gone. This all depends on if Ed can get some talent in here or not next season though. I sure hope he does, I'd like for Mo to prove some of you wrong and better this team.

Zumoff and Mix together may have been extremely cheesy, but at least their chemistry and antics were really entertaining. Mix was a master of cheesy yet comedic phrases. Salmi is not only extremely dull, but he also makes Jon Madden look like the most insightful commentator in sports. I feel dumber after listening to Salmi announce a game.

Sounds like an Agent of a player involved in deal talks wanted to call and get the lay of the Philly landscape. If so, a shrewd move by Ed w/ good S/T structure

BB:

That's a fair deal for Mo. He gets one more year with some reinforcements to show improvement. I've got no problem with that structure. Does that ease your concern sixerzguy?

As far as Skiles, I would prefer someone with a better track record than him. If we're gonna get a coach who wears out his welcome within 5 years, why not just go back to Brown - at least he has some playoff success on his resume. Or, go in the opposite direction and find a first timer like Mike D'Antoni.

Morty, wouldn't a sign and trade involve us sending atlanta a player that they covet? who would they want on our squad that we would be willing to part with? wouldn't it be easier to just sign josh smith outright?

Snarl, I'll give you that but Mix became very tiresome to me. Don't like being talked to like I was a little kid and that's how I felt listening to Mix. Analysis was always about individual fundamentals not the team game and decisions being made on the court.

Todays broadcast team may also seem a bit dull due to the quality of the games they are calling. Not always very exciting. I'll give them time to see if there is growth. At half time I'm channel surfing and not watching the Salmi Strater

Actually, Morty, and like you it passed me by, D'Antoni had a fleeting, unsuccessful first go-round at helm of Nuggets. Think tho not sure under Kiki.

Went back to Benneton for a few yrs until recruited back by Jerry Colang. May have been in late 90s or so.

Great job by Ed re terms w Mo. Go Wharton.

Mike:

Did not know that, but doesn't affect my point. If Mo doesn't succeed, and I were GM, I'd go for a coach with a championship on his resume, or a fresh face. No retreads.

I agree, very fair deal for both sides.

Morty,

Thats a very small fraternity..err...even a handful? Excluding uptrending younger ones. Be tough to recruit to Philly until 75 pct pieces in place

Morty,

My bad. You included the fresh face.

Fully agree

Up-trending younger coaches is what I'm talking about or an established champ. One or the other. ES buys himself at least another year to develop the team and find that person. Or, Mo takes control and proves his worth.

By the way, I might smell a rat as far as the timing for this extension as well as the guys above. Very good timing for management, because I believe ES that he will not be making a trade.

Morty,
The comment above re an Agent inquiring ( on behalf of a client in play) as to ongoing Sixer coaching duties was astute.

Tho that, to me, would signal, as it being formalized today, that Ed is involved in possible deal talks. You see it differently?

Mo, this team has got to start playing perimeter defense. Miller, Green, Sweet Lou and even Iggy are playing matador D. Sad to see Sweet Lou be up and down with his effort on D; sad to see Iggy also pick and choose when he's going to bring some defensive intensity. At least Carney hustles on D.
35 pts from McCants & Jaric last night...sad, sad, sad.

And we need a big with some muscle and a mean streak who will make the guards who get by Miller pay by being knocked flat to the ground. Someone like a younger Kurt Thomas will do. Evans is playing decent off the bench. He needs to start knocking down opposing points if Stef can't acquire a tough, mean big.

Morty,
Or as shrewd as Ed is, it may have merely been a timely opportunity for him to nail Mo for the 1 year w all the Ed controlled options under the guise of whatever he wanted.

Ed, I do know, has the shrewd cookie goods

Unfortunately, Kurt's big contract expires this year but SEA wont deal him for anything but expiring plus. Plus as in another draft pick, which they have 2 of thus far. Suns, their own.

Mike, I didn't make that comment about an agent. That would be interesting, if true.

Nice move. Mo deserved it. Ultimately the players win games. Good coaches can win a few games a year over bad ones but in the end the Sixers need some more talent for Mo to work with. Good luck to Ed finding that talent.

But, gotta reiterate, Good for Mo. When you think more about it, while late in this regard, if Ed wanted Mo's input on a move in the next 24 hours he was considering, which he ought get ( separate from DiLeo) this was the way to buy short term candor- rather than a response asked of a guy without an assured job next year.

Its almost a Tease timing of announcement, or a needed one to ease in a deal to be announced. Tune in Friday to see

Morty.
Was speculated above by a poster. And, it is a logical deduction.

This extension is meaningless because it did nothing to dissuade the notion that Stefanski is going to eventually jettison Cheeks as soon as the Sixers get good enough to compete for something, and then bring in a "name" coach to presumably put them over the top.

The harsh reality is that current personnel lacks talent to compete so you can't gauge their progress with wins and losses. At the moment the only measuring stick is how hard the team plays (which they do) and all this option does is assure everyone (and maybe so Mo can breathe easy down the stretch) that Cheeks will be back next year.

People talk about this extension as doing the "right thing" but to me, the right thing would be guaranteeing 2 more years instead of one.

Morty,
That was me, Mike. the last post labeled as Anonymous. I guess know I see how Anonymous gets labeled, when one omits filling out the Name/Sender box. Oops.

76:

Is your name Billy King?

I saw where the extension is for one year with an option for a second year. I'm not as opposed to giving Cheeks one more year instead of 3 or 4 years. Still, more so than Cheeks, how does this team get better talent?

That loss to Minnesotta was pretty telling about the current status of this team. The Minnesotta announcers said that out of the two team's rebuilding situations, that they think Minnesotta is ahead of Philly because they at least have a legitimate low post threat in Al Jefferson, cap room and several no. 1 picks.

Sadly, I kind of agree with them. The T-Wolves currrently have more NBA-talented players than the 76ers right now, and that is saying something.

I still hope Stefanski can make a trade tomorrow, but that doesn't seem to great right now.

I just read where the Spurs are looking at making a deal for Ron Artest. That might tip the pendulum back in the direction of the Spurs again. Should be an interesting day tomorrow.

Mike, Ed's got a real good poker face then.

The Extension is not meaningless at all. We dont know whether there are (reasonable) performance clauses, which Ed ought want, nor the guaranteed pay per annum plus bonuses.

I think Mo is the type who will work his butt off to outperform, there are many who seek crazy guarantees who underperform.

Roll on Mo.

Jefferson is a great piece to build with. But Philadelphia is a better draw than Minneapolis for players.

daTruth,

Havent seen his face in action, but he HAS to have a good poker face to succeed as he has, professionally, on the negotiation front.

Every entrepeneur has a poker face. Course, some are better at it then others. lol. Its not the face tho, its the actions of a negotiator- and his stomach for risk.

apologies, da Truth. that was me Mike. This effing box wont remember my name. Sorry, pal.

Yes!! Please bring back Steve Mix. At least he had a sense of humor. Salmi talks in that boring monotone voice...torture.

And can we please trade Andre Miller by tomorrow? What in the world do we need him for? To push to make the playoffs as the 8 seed and then lose 4 games straight? Ed S had better make at least one deal. Otherwise, we could have just kept Billy King.

Anything Harold Katz recommends, I'm doing the opposite. Harold what were you thinking when you traded Barkely for two stiffs and Hornacek? That was a terrible trade!
Morty and Moishe Recommend...

Well-deserved extension for coach cheeks. Now get him some more talent and see what he can do.
http://reclinergm.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/maurice-cheeks-well-deserved-contract-extension/

Stefanski blew this one big time!!! A one year deal, with an option? That's BS!!! This team wouldn't be crap without Mo's leadership. He has no superstar, a bunch of bench players, and regardless of how bad the East is, they could make the playoffs. I'm extremely disappointed. Mo is a Philly legend, and he deserves more of an endorsement. He's done just as good a job as any of those re-tread coaches who can't get from behind a microphone. Why do you think that is? Don't tell me Stefanski is keeping the seat warm for one of those idiots? I'm excited. Mo deserves at least a three year deal!!! He blew it!!!!!

Mfecani:

Is your real name Billy King?

Cheeks 1 yr. deal - Up 4 on the leaderboard from the 18th fairway, Stefanski hits a conservative approach shot to green. Polite applause from the gallery.

This 36-72 lead against the Knicks shows how bad the Sixers are!! They should be up by 40! Time to get rid of Miller, Reggie Evans, and Willie Green. They all stink. I want an extra 4 million in cap room and two mid to late first round picks so the Sixers can stink for the next two years and get that eighth grader out in Walla Walla. Cheeks and Stefanski stink. Let's bring in Doug Moe, Kevin Loughery, and Chuck Daly as GM. Winning formula!

Boys, its a beautiful thing when the Sixers can bounce back from a disappointing loss on one night, take the red eye home from Minnesota and, though it was the lowly Knicks, beat them in all aspects of the game like they did tonight.

Kudos to another year of Mo Cheeks. Tonight speaks volumes of what he has accomplished with this team effort wise. The Knicks are the antithesis of what the Sixers have become.

Suede stick to bowling!

anyone know where to get a Thad jersey?

If there is anyone out there that thinks that Phil Jackson, Avery Johnson, Flip Saunders or any other recent winning coach, would have done any more with the Sixers in the last 2.5 years than what Mo has done, you're sadly mistaken. This team is where it is because of salary issues, lack of talent and bad chemistry on the court. When you compund those issues with consistent turnover in the head coaching position you get to be where the Sixers were around this time last year.

Cheeks may not have been the best coach available but he was the best one to bring the team to where they are right now. If this extension is no more than a reward for keeping the organization from becoming a laughing stock like the Knicks, I am one who is happy. But I really believe that Cheeks is going to help them turn back into at least a solid playoff contender before his tenure is over.

Clif,

I couldn't agree with you more This team plays hard for Cheeks that means he is getting through to them and motivating them.

Perfect example tonight, The knicks have way more talent that the sixers and were completely destroyed because Isiah is the anti-cheeks. Players that were fine before coming to the knicks get lazy under him players with bad habits and no work ethic get worse under him.

Good for Cheeks
Go Sixers!!!