The Philadelphia 76ers didn’t hesitate to fire Doc Rivers after another disappointing end to the season.
And while that might seem like the right move for most fans, analysts, and even some of his players, Stephen A. Smith isn’t so sure about it.
Moreover, Smith is wroth at the fact that Mike D’Antoni is reportedly a candidate to take the reins of the team now.
Mike D'Antoni is being considered for head coaching jobs?
Never won ANYTHING Mike D’Antoni?!
I’m disgusted pic.twitter.com/A8m5RV9BMR
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) May 18, 2023
In the latest edition of his show, Smith ripped D’Antoni for never winning a conference title, let alone an NBA title, despite having coached the likes of Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, James Harden, and Chris Paul.
He went on to reveal that D’Antoni never actually pointed out Harden’s mistakes during film sessions when they were together in Houston and also called him out for his short practices, easy-going nature, and lack of defensive expertise.
Smith also believes that the Sixers fired Doc Rivers because of Harden, citing that the situation was so “touchy” in Philadelphia that Rivers even allowed him to have one day off in Las Vegas in the middle of the playoffs.
The controversial pundit finished his allocation by stating that if the Sixers hire D’Antoni, it would mean that Harden — not Joel Embiid — is the face of the franchise.
Daryl Morey is also a big Harden guy, so this wouldn’t be a far-fetched statement at all.
Still, it would most definitely be questionable to prioritize the 33-year-old shooting guard over their actual MVP big man.
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