Posted on Fri, May. 30, 2003
76ers Close In On Smith
By Stephen A. Smith
Inquirer Staff Writer
Jeff Van Gundy, former coach of the Knicks, is in the running for the Cavaliers job. He is not interested in coaching the 76ers.
Billy King, the new president of the 76ers, was out of the office yesterday, and several NBA sources said he spent the day with Kentucky coach Tubby Smith.
The sources said King was trying to convince him to take the Sixers' head coaching job a day after Smith referred to that job as a "headache."
After hours of negotiating, it appeared that a deal to make Smith the next Sixers coach was close to getting done.
Smith, who won a national title with Kentucky in 1998 and was an assistant coach on the Olympic team, has been friendly with King for years.
An announcement could come as early as today.
The Sixers had started the day planning an interview with former New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy a day after Portland denied them permission to talk to Trail Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks.
By afternoon, Van Gundy was out of the picture and Cheeks was fuming over the situation.
"All I can tell you is that Mo is extremely upset about it," an NBA source close to the situation said last night. "Mo wasn't lying when he said that if it were anyplace else, it would've been a non-issue. He understands the business and that Portland did what it had to do.
"But... it's Philadelphia. Everyone knows he wants to be in Philadelphia. Plus, the Blazers didn't even extend his contract; they gave him no compensation whatsoever, and that's what has him mad."
Portland has Cheeks under contract for one more season with an option to extend the contract through the 2004-05 season.
"All I know right now is that Mo can't say a word," the source said. "He isn't stupid."
The Sixers, meanwhile, had no comment.
So, with Cheeks and the Sixers' staff on mute, speculation moved from Van Gundy to Smith and the University of Memphis' John Calipari.
On Wednesday, Smith, 51, had dispelled rumors of a possible arrival in Philadelphia by saying of Kentucky, "I have a good job, a very good job, and I don't need that kind of headache."
Last month, he signed an eight-year, $20.25 million extension with the Wildcats. Smith is 288-109 in 12 years as a head coach at Tulsa, Georgia and Kentucky. The Wildcats went 32-4 this past season, losing to Marquette in the Midwest Regional final of the NCAA Tournament.
The Sixers had sought and received permission from the Knicks to talk with Van Gundy, who resigned last season as coach but remains under contract with New York until July 31. They learned that Van Gundy wasn't interested in the Sixers' post.
"We mutually agreed it wasn't a good fit," Van Gundy, a candidate in Houston and Cleveland, told Comcast SportsNet yesterday.
Meanwhile, Larry Brown, who resigned Monday as the Sixers' coach, reportedly was contemplating a potential move to the Rockets.
The Washington Post reported that the Wizards also had approached Brown about becoming their president of basketball operations and head coach. Sources told the paper that Brown has not ruled out future talks with the Wizards but will not meet with them while Doug Collins, a friend, remains under contract as the team's coach.
Cleveland no longer appears to be in the mix for Brown, since both Van Gundy and Paul Silas have been called back twice for interviews.
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