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Besides one freak happening in 2006, Elton Brand has been on nothing but losing teams. Does this say anything damning about Elton, or is this just a good player who happens to play for nothing but crappy teams?
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8949832/Fired-Cheeks-takes-blame-for-76ers'-poor-start
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Sitting in front of a Philadelphia 76ers banner and behind a 76ers microphone, fired head coach Maurice Cheeks took the blame.
Three days after the team replaced him, Cheeks met with reporters on Tuesday to thank the fans and take responsibility for the poor start of a team with playoff aspirations.
Sometimes, Cheeks said, it can be the coach's fault a team does not perform as expected.
"In my case, it was the coach," he said.
Team president Ed Stefanski fired Cheeks on Saturday after the Sixers stumbled to a 9-14 start.
Last season, Cheeks and Stefanski orchestrated a remarkable midseason turnaround that helped the 76ers recover from an 18-30 start to make the playoffs. In the offseason, they acquired star power forward Elton Brand and appeared ready to contend in the Eastern Conference.
But the team struggled early and had lost eight of 10 before Stefanski fired Cheeks and replaced him with assistant general manager Tony DiLeo.
"Things don't always work out the way you expect them to," Cheeks said. " take solace in the fact I did the best I could."
Cheeks said his affection for the fans and the franchise — where he played 11 seasons — prompted him to agree to a news conference at the 76ers home arena.
"I think it would have been selfish for me to just pick up and leave and go and not show my appreciation to the people that have supported me," he said. "I pretty much grew up in this town."
Cheeks carefully rearranged the tape recorders in front of him as he spoke and joked with reporters, telling them he wanted to thank a lot of people without having to run up his cell phone bill.
He refused to place blame for the team's poor performance on anyone but himself.
"Sometimes being fired is one of the things that entails being a head coach," he said.
Cheeks said he would be open to another position with the team, where he was a star point guard on the Sixers' last championship team in 1983, although he has not been approached about a job.
"I've been a part of this town a long time and I don't plan on going anywhere," he said. "If the opportunity is there for me to be in the organization, I'm more than happy to do that."
A four-time All-Star, Cheeks spent 15 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 1993. The 76ers retired his jersey in 1995.
Cheeks was a member of the coaching staff when the 76ers went to the finals in 2001 and, after a head coaching stint in Portland, was named the 76ers head coach in 2005. He finished with a 122-152 record in Philadelphia.
The 76ers beat Washington 104-89 on Saturday in their first game under DiLeo. Philadelphia hosts Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Now that is a class act.
Besides one freak happening in 2006, Elton Brand has been on nothing but losing teams. Does this say anything damning about Elton, or is this just a good player who happens to play for nothing but crappy teams?
I actually agree with this.
Elton Brand is not a winner and should never be "The Man" on a team.
It's not that he is not a winner, it's just that you don't put a great role player in the position of go to guy.
I agree with that!!
Brand is a great role player....but not a superstar!
But I did think the 76ers would be much better than they are right now.
However, there is still a lot of season left. Hopefully they can turn it around.
poor guy. based on other firings, a 9-14 start is nothing.
-Mars
Brand is not a role player LOL, you guys are nuts. Brand is just being utilized terribly in Philly. His numbers are all down from his clipper days (far from being a role player there). The problem is the offense is just a mess. Iggy has to be force to shoot shots, the lanes are clogged due to sagging of the defense, Brand has to settle for akward post up moves and he is shooting horribly this year, andre miller is shooting too many shots as well. There are no slashers that can help brand get easy buckets.
Brand went to the wrong team rather than his abilities as a player.
Brand is a Super role player but a role player none the less.
When I say he's not a winner, it means he can't lead his team to a win. Guys like Kobe, Duncan, Lebron, Shaq, etc can lead their team to wins no matter how bad their team is.
Put those other guys on this Philly team and they'll be in the 2nd/3rd spot in the East.
why the emphasis on "role" tho? He is a good player. Not a great player. I agree he doesn't have the tools to lead a team like the superstars. but he was putting up 20/10/2/2.5 just a few years back.
igoudala has put handcuffs on that sixers franchise with his play and his contract.
it's like when you are playing a pick up game of basketball and your team is just selfish and has no chemistry and never lets you get an offense flow when you are actually the best player on the court. This is happening with Philly.
I avoided calling him a role player in my first postwhy the emphasis on "role" tho? He is a good player. Not a great player. I agree he doesn't have the tools to lead a team like the superstars. but he was putting up 20/10/2/2.5 just a few years back.
igoudala has put handcuffs on that sixers franchise with his play and his contract.He IS a good player.
Elton Brand is a rich man's Lamar Odom. Andre Iguodala is a poor man's Gerald Wallace.
Their team is awful. Cheeks didn't deserve to be fired.
Brand is not the best franchise player out there, but he's been pretty much a guaranteed 20/10 on a nightly basis before this season, even on bad teams with limited weapons. But, if you're going to make him the focus of the offense, at least put three point shooters around him. Andre Miller, poor three point shooter. Andre Iguodala, average and inconsistent outside shooter. Thaddeus Young, inconsistent perimeter shooter. Sam Dalembert, not a jump shooter. Criticize Brand all you want, but that team is poorly constructed. Willie Green is their most consistent outside shooter. The rest can't really shoot from the perimeter. That's a problem. Cheeks wasn't the biggest problem about the Sixers. Neither is Elton Brand.
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