The Philadelphia 76ers are in the process of looking to find a new head coach after moving from Doc Rivers after three seasons at the helm. The Sixers won a ton of games, but they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals three seasons in a row.
The new coach is going to have to come in and now help the Sixers move forward on their title quest. Philadelphia possesses a ton of talent, but they just haven’t been able to get over the hump that is Round 2 at the moment.
Monty Williams, who was fired by the Phoenix Suns after a 194-115 record in four seasons, is one of the names being reported as a candidate in Philadelphia. Here are three reasons why Williams makes a lot of sense to be the new head man for the Sixers:
Offensive minded
The Sixers went ice cold in the fourth quarter of their Game 6 loss to the Boston Celtics and in the third quarter of their Game 7 loss. Those two quarters mostly did them in during the loss to Boston. While that isn’t necessarily Rivers’ fault as Philadelphia generated good looks, the shots just weren’t falling.
Williams’ teams in Phoenix were terrific on the offensive end. In the 2020-21 season when the Suns made the finals, they were fifth in offensive rating. In the 2021-22 season, when Phoenix won 64 games, they were fourth in offensive rating. The Suns slumped to 14th in the 2022-23 season, but from the injury to Chris Paul plus the Kevin Durant trade disrupting things, Williams still did a more than solid job.
Familiarity with Joel Embiid and the Sixers
Williams was an assistant with the Sixers in the 2018-19 season under Brett Brown so he understands how Joel Embiid and the Sixers operate. Obviously, James Harden wasn’t around during that season, but Williams is smart enough to make things work for both of them.
Williams’ Suns’ offenses were able to make things work with Deandre Ayton alongside Paul, Devin Booker, and Durant. Ayton also isn’t the offensive threat that Embiid is so one can assume that Williams would be able for Philadelphia to have an efficient offense based on the Embiid and Harden pairing.
A positive coaching style
As Rivers also did, Williams played in the NBA so he understands the player. That is why Rivers has had a positive relationship with his players and Williams should be able to get his players to buy in to what he wants to accomplish.
Williams once said via AZ Central:
“I hope that when our players are around our staff, and in particular me, they know I’m here to serve them in any way that I can,” he said. “I want to help guys get better. I want to help them get paid. I want to help them win games, but I want to do it in a way that allows them to think, ‘That guy cares about me. He cares about my family. He cares about me as a person.’
“It just comes from my faith as a Christian, to not just do a job, collect a check and go home. Just for me, my leadership revolves around serving people. It’s the way I thought would be effective for my personality.”
Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire