Is Doug Collins On The Burner?
After last night’s incredibly pathetic loss to the Orlando Magic, Doug Collins held his usual post-game press conference but decided to be a bit more candid in his answers. Collins openly blasted several players for their lack of effort and continued to shift the blame from his lack of coaching to ambiguous factors like cohesiveness and intensity. The wheels are all but falling off of the 2012-13 76ers’ season…
With a press conference like that, you can’t help but feel frustrated.
On one hand, it’s nice to hear Doug Collins hold players accountable for their very apparent lack of effort. His prolific quotes and general honesty help you feel for the guy. It’s clear that he’s passionate about this sport, which I love, and Doug Collins made some great points in his arguments. We don’t have a single player on the court from our blockbuster trade this Summer. The people we traded away are having either career seasons or at least contributing to their team at a high level.
On another hand, Collins answers were very selfish and irresponsible. Doug Collins spent much of this off-season trying to obtain decision making privileges that are only typical for a general manager. He had the final say on this Andrew Bynum trade debacle, it was ultimately his call to trade away those players, and at the end of the day it’s his responsibility to make the roster he has currently play at its best. Do I think he’s doing that? Not really.
Plus, no one really makes a stink about how we sputtered into the playoffs last year. Thanks to a torn ACL and a worn-down Celtics team, the last 2 months of the 2011-12 season were swept under the rug, but it was pretty clear that Collins was losing some of the locker room then, too.
Much has been made about the decisions Collins is making on a game-day basis. Evan Turner, who in spite of improved career averages, has spent almost every game coming off the bench, rather than starting. It’s clear that Turner and Collins don’t see eye to eye. That’s been apparent since day one.
Arnett Moultrie, our coveted draft pick, has gotten almost zero playing time, and it’s starting to piss people off, as well.
In some respects, though, you can’t blame him for the overall body of decisions that has been made in his tenure as the 76ers head coach. Would anyone have seriously not pulled the trigger on the Iguodala/Bynum trade back in the summer of 2012? Our roster is pretty shallow and pathetic, so our record doesn’t necessarily reflect bad coaching. You can’t fault him for his principles and passion, but sometimes they blindly lead him, and others, into the fire.
Do I think Doug Collins is going to be the head coach next year? It’s tough to say.
Collins has never coached on the same team for more than 3 years. His team is beginning to turn on him, there are no solid veterans to help cope with this losing process, and he doesn’t really want to deal with it.
With that said, things can’t change really quickly for a team with nothing to lose. Say Bynum does come back (btw, did you notice the stab Collins took at Bynum during the press conference? Ouch.), but say that he does, plays hard, wins us some games, and even signs a deal to stay in Philadelphia. That, in itself, would be enough to keep Collins. He wants a big inside man, and this was supposed to be it for him.
Collins emotion does get the best of him, so I don’t always take his quotes to heart after a big win or loss, but I do recall Collins saying, “I’m a Sixer for life. They were calling to get me out of here, and let me tell you, I’m a Sixer for life.”