O'Brien Fired

[J-Smoove]

!?!?!!?

Mo cheeks replaces him!

ESPN.com breaking news.

PHILADELPHIA -- Jim O'Brien was fired Monday after only one season as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers and replaced by former star Maurice Cheeks.

O'Brien, a Philadelphia native who played for Saint Joseph's, went 43-39 in his only season and the Sixers were elminated in the first round of the playoffs in five games by Detroit.

He was in the first year of a four-year contract that paid him about $4 million a year. O'Brien, though, was not very popular with his players, who often complained about their roles, most notably former All-Star Chris Webber.

Cheeks was one of the most popular 76ers from 1978-89 and played on Philadelphia's last championship team, in 1983. Cheeks was fired March 2 after nearly four seasons as coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. He had a 162-139 in Portland, the fourth-highest win total in Blazers history.

Cheeks will be Philadelphia's fourth coach since Larry Brown resigned and left for Detroit following the 2002-03 season. Randy Ayers was fired 52 games into the 2003-04 season and replaced by Chris Ford.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2066717

[Colin]

Good for Philly, IMO. It's good to see the firings take place early in the off-season so the new coaches can build their team.

[Keo]

Yes! That's great News!!!I'm happy for Philly...

[cyanide]

There's no good reason for Jim O'Brien to get fired. The only excuse I can think of is Webber complaining about the lack of playing time, but wouldn't that be remedied during the offseason, where he'll be more involved within the system?

[Rip32]

Webber will probably play a bigger role with Mo there. When I first heard they fired O'Brien I was like Here comes a Mo Cheeks sighting. Hes a coach the Philly fans are really gonna like.

[Full Surface]

King didn't want to look stupid by trading for Wevver and have him demand a trade after his first year.

[Buckley]

Webber kept complaining about coach O'Brien, not because he wouldn't let him shoot, but because he wouldn't get enough touches before Iverson made a shot. Also around march O'Brien stuck Webber on the bench which was not good for the team.

Mo Cheeks looks to be the right fit for us. Its kind of cool that a former Sixers player becomes the new head coach. Hopefully, Webber will play better with Cheeks in as coach.

[Andrew]

O'Brien didn't do a bad job in his first and only season at the helm, but it will be nice to see Mo Cheeks back on the sidelines, especially in Philadelphia and given the way he was made the scapegoat in Portland. I agree with Colin about the timing of the decision, better to make the change before the offseason begins.

[FendeR`]

Living in PA, I like this decision. I don't think Jim O'Brien was doing terribly as the head coach, but many people scrutinized him. When you're losing as a team, not liked by your players, and not liked by your city (especially Philadelphia), you aren't going to succeed. I like to see Mo here. Hopefully it'll really be redemption for how he was basically a sitting duck for the blame of Portland's trainwreck they call a team.

[Riot]

Rumors. I really doubt this will happen.

[Drex]

Rumors? It's official already.

I read this was in part 'cause O'Brien had weird defensive plans that nobody understood. Also, Dalembert and Green thought they didn't improved under him.
It will be nice to have Mo in Philly. Everybody loves him there, and IMO, he's a great coach. If he coached the Blazers, he can do it all

[-BHZMAFIA-]

I'm suprised to see O'Brien leave so quickly. They could've at least gave him another year, but whatever. I hope Mo Cheeks don't let the players run over him like they did in Portland.

[Riot]

Mafia, I think you hold the record for most posts with the icon.

[thaKEAF]

Being a Sixers fan I think that this is a okay move. O'Brien really didn't get along with the players and he also didn't give players who could help us alot of playing time. He didn't play Brian Skinner alot when we had him, he barely played Willie Green, and Dalembert didn't get alot of time til the playoffs. Hopefully Mo Cheeks can bring a better attitude to the team and will give young players like Dalembert and Green the time they need to develop.

[Dramacydal]

i really wanted Mo Cheeks to replace coach Brown back then when he left but now i think the timing isnt too good, O'Brien was doing a great job in Philly and it looked like they could really build up a good team for the future, i especially liked how O'Brien involved all the rookies and gave Iguodala the starting spot straight from the beginning.