Sixers assistant Ime Udoka reportedly front-runner to become next Bulls coach if Jim Boylen gets fired | Off the Dribble
The Bulls hired former Sixers executive Marc Eversley as general manager in late April.
Happy Monday, people.
Let’s make this the start of another productive week. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m excited that the NBA season will resume on July 31. I can’t wait to see what the 76ers will look like following the lengthy shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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— Keith Pompey (offthedribble@inquirer.com)
Another Sixers assistant coach heading out?
Is Ime Udoka is line to become the latest 76ers assistant coach to move on as a head coach?
The Chicago Suns Times recently reported that Udoka is the front-runner to become the Bulls’ head coach if the team fires embattled coach Jim Boylen. The paper said Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin is also in the picture.
Griffin is a former Bulls assistant and Seton Hall teammate of Chicago’s new executive vice president of basketball operations, Arturas Karnisovas.
The Bulls hired former Sixers executive Marc Eversley as general manager in late April. Reports out of Chicago were that Boylen’s job has been jeopardy since Karnisovas was hired on April 13.
The Athletic originally reported in April that Udoka and Griffin would be candidates for the job
Uboka would become the fourth assistant under Sixers coach Brett Brown to land an NBA head coaching job. The other three coaches are Lloyd Pierce (Atlanta Hawks), Mike D’Antoni (Houston Rockets), and Monty Williams (Phoenix Suns).
D’Antoni and Williams had previous head-coaching experience before joining the Sixers staff.
Udoka came to Philadelphia on June 7, 2019 after spending seven seasons as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs under coach Gregg Popovich. Sixers coach Brett Brown has ties to the Spurs. He was a longtime assistant coach there before the Sixers hired him on Aug. 12, 2013.
Starting five
I am George Floyd: It is hard to think about the return of the NBA when the killing of George Floyd continues to haunt me and this country.
Sixers’ Elton Brand, Tobias Harris and Matisse Thybulle join protest in Philadelphia: Brand, Harris, Thybulle, other Sixers employees and Raptors star and Philly native Kyle Lowry were among the thousands marching down the city streets on Saturday.
Sixers’ NBA title odds are generously holding at 25-1: The Sixers are 8-1 to win the Eastern Conference, something they haven’t done in 19 years, writes Ed Barkowitz.
Sixers mailbag: Yes, Shake Milton definitely deserves to remain in the starting lineup. Milton averaged 14.1 points and shot 50% from three-point land in his 16 starts this season. He averaged 19.4 points and shot 51.9% on three-pointers in his last five games, all starts.
Now that the NBA season is set to resume, the Sixers have a chance to show us who they really are: The circumstances may not look traditional, but there is plenty of reason to believe that the end result can and will stand, writes David Murphy.
Matisse making a difference
We say a lot of positive things about Tobias Harris, and rightfully so.
The Sixers forward is making a huge impact off the court in the Philadelphia area. But so is mentee, Matisse Thybulle.
The rookie guard has been at Harris’ side the past two Saturdays to march among thousands at peaceful protests against racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of the May 25 Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black male.
Floyd, 46, died while since-fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinned him with his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd yelled, “I can’t breathe.”
On Saturday, Thybulle donned a T-shirt with “I can’t breathe” printed on the front. He also had a sign, urging people to use their voice and vote.
Passing the Rock
Question: When will all the team be returning to Philadelphia?— @CrispKev_ (Twitter)
Answer: Thanks for asking a question. All the players begin workouts at the practice facility in Camden on June 30. NBA teams will to travel to Orlando between July 7 and July 9.