NBA coach PJ Carlesimo. (Photo : Getty Images)
Former Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors head coach PJ Carlesimo is set to replace the Houston Rockets-bound Mike D'Antoni as an associate head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers next season.
The Philadelphia Magazine reported that the Sixers "will add PJ Carlesimo to Brett Brown's coaching staff" as replacement to outgoing coach D'Antoni, who was reportedly hired by the Rockets as their permanent head coach starting in 2016-2017 taking over from interim JB Bickerstaff.
However, the signing is said to be "not yet official" as head coach Brown is still in the process of assessing other applicants for the position. The 66-year-old former Brooklyn Nets interim boss is allegedly the first choice, though.
Carlesimo is bound to provide his rich coaching experience to Brown, who started coaching the Sixers in the summer of 2013 after his previous stint as the director of player development and assistant coach to Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs.
The highlight of Carlesimo's coaching career was when he guided the Trail Blazers to a 137-109 record during a three-season campaign even though the club traded then superstar shooting guard Clyde Drexler to Houston.
Carlesimo was a fellow assistant with Brown to Popovich in San Antonio from 2002 to 2007 while he was also an assistant with the Toronto Raptors during the 2010-2011 season when now Sixers president of basketball operations and general manager Bryan Colangelo was still handling the Canadian squad at the same position.
Similar to D'Antoni, Carlesimo is also an elder coach than Brown who could provide the former Sydney Kings boss the necessary guidance to thrive in the NBA. Carlesimo's advantage over D'Antoni, though, is that the former and brown are "longtime friends", the Philadelphia Inquirer noted.
Carlesimo had served as head coach for four different teams in the NBA throughout his 45-year career as a bench tactician, namely Portland, Golden State, Seattle/Oklahoma City, and Brooklyn.
He was on the bench for the SuperSonics when they relocated to Oklahoma City and became the first-ever Thunder head coach in history. He was also responsible for selecting Kevin Durant second overall in the 2007 NBA Draft, but was fired just 13 games into the season after succumbing to a 1-12 start.
