AP source: Sixers set to negotiate with Collins

Posted May 19 2010 8:38PM

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- TNT analyst Doug Collins, who has been a coach with three NBA franchises,
started negotiating with the 
Philadelphia 76ers to become their coach, according a person familiar with the talks.



The person spoke on condition of anonymity on Wednesday because the negotiations were supposed
to remain confidential.

Team president Ed Stefanski interviewed Collins on May 1, and he emerged as the leading candidate
to replace the fired Eddie Jordan. 
The pool of candidates includes former Dallas coach Avery Johnson and Toronto coach Sam Mitchell.

Collins went 332-287 in coaching stints with Chicago, Detroit and Washington. The 76ers made
him the No. 1 overall pick in the 1973 
draft, and he played eight seasons with them.

Collins' agent, John Langel, declined comment.

Collins coached a young Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls from 1986-89, and the Detroit Pistons
from 1995-98.

He coached Jordan again with the Washington Wizards from 2001-03. His two seasons with the Wizards
were his only two full seasons in 
which he did not lead his team to the playoffs. He was fired shortly after Jordan was denied
a return to the front office.

Stefanski and other members of Sixers management also interviewed Phoenix assistant coach Dan
Majerle, Houston assistant Elston 
Turner, Portland assistant Monty Williams and former Detroit Pistons star Bill Laimbeer.

Collins has been with TNT since leaving the Wizards. He was set to call Game 2 of the Western
Conference finals between Los Angeles 
and Phoenix on Wednesday night.

The negotiations were first reported by the Philadelphia Daily News.

This is shaping up as the most pivotal offseason for the Sixers since they selected Allen Iverson
with the No. 1 overall draft pick 
in 1996. The Sixers moved up from the sixth spot to grab the No. 2 pick in Tuesday's draft lottery.

The right coach-draft pick combination could immediately lift them from their 27-55 doldrums
in Eddie Jordan's lone season.

"I have said this over and over that our talent was better than our record," Stefanski said
at the lottery. "We have to show that 
and prove that on the court. I think that our young players did not have the year or the progression
that we expected. They are 
going to have to show it. So we have a lot of work to do this summer. We have to show the fans
that this is a big start to get the 
No. 2 pick in the draft."

The Sixers still owe Eddie Jordan $6 million over the next two seasons -- but they have had
multiple coaches on the payroll in 
previous seasons. While money could be a factor, team chairman Ed Snider has rarely let cost
stand in the way.

Collins was a serious candidate to return to coach the Bulls in 2008. Concerned that a second
tenure as the Bulls' coach would spoil 
their friendship, Collins told chairman Jerry Reinsdorf to look elsewhere in June 2008.

He was a four-time All-Star with the Sixers, and he averaged 17.9 points in a career marred
by injuries. A knee injury forced him to 
retire in 1981, two years before the 76ers beat the Lakers for the 1983 NBA title.

Collins received the Curt Gowdy Media Award at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
in September for his work as a 
broadcaster.
 


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