Yesterday afternoon, the Sixers announced they have hired former Grizzlies and Kings head coach Dave Joerger to be an assistant coach under Doc Rivers. Joerger, who was a possible candidate to become the head coach awhile back, expressed interest and signed with Philly very shortly after. Joerger has a .498% winning percentage despite coaching a Kings’ team that was in the process of rebuilding, so that is very impressive. Joerger has a reputation for holding players accountable and pushing players to their max. De’Aaron Fox, the speedy Kings’ point guard, improved and became an All-Star caliber player under Joerger. He has a great basketball mind, and is very talented at working with what he has to work with. In his three years coaching the Memphis Grizzlies, Joerger went 147-99 and made the playoffs in 2013-2014, 2014-2015, and in 2015-2016. In his three years coaching the Sacramento Kings, Joerger went 98-148 and missed the playoffs all three times. Reportedly, the Sixers expressed interest in trading for Kings’ sharpshooter Buddy Hield who seemed unhappy in Sacramento. Apparently, Joerger and Hield clashed and did not get along with each other, and that plus them not winning games caused Joerger to be fired. However, I believe that us hiring Joerger does not hinder us pushing for Buddy Hield at all. I think that Buddy was mad that the culture hasn’t been winning, and took it out on Dave. I’m sure he understands that if does indeed get traded to Philly, he would fit amazingly with Doc and Dave, and flourish with Ben and Joel. I could be wrong, but this is my thoughts on the Hield-Joerger situation. All in all, this was an amazing hire, and even as an assistant coach, I believe Joerger will make a HUGE difference. Thanks for reading!
Philadelphia Sports Chronicle 