The Philadelphia 76ers are apparently well into the process of finding replacements for two valued assistant coaches. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Sixers are interviewing former Dallas Mavericks head coach and San Antonio Spurs guard Avery Johnson for a role on head coach Brett Brown's staff.
Avery Johnson is interviewing for a job on Brett Brown's staff with the 76ers, league sources tell ESPN. Johnson has previously been a head coach with Alabama, the Nets and Mavericks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 4, 2019
Johnson began his coaching tenure as an assistant with the Mavericks in 2004, simultaneously ending a 16-year playing career. He took over as Dallas' head coach just five months later following the resignation of Don Nelson, a succession plan that was put in place when he was initially hired as an assistant. Johnson coached the Mavericks until his dismissal at the conclusion of the 2007-08 season, leading them to the NBA Finals during his second season on the bench in 2005-06.
After spending several years in broadcasting, Johnson was hired as head coach of the New Jersey Nets in 2010. He lasted just over two seasons with the organization, being dismissed 28 games into 2012-13. The notoriously fiery Johnson then moved down to the college ranks, leading the University of Alabama to one NCAA Tournament berth in four seasons before his mutual separation from the program in March.
The Sixers, who took the Eastern Conference champion Toronto Raptors to an epic seven-game second-round playoff series, lost two of their most influential assistant in the past two months. Monty Williams, Brown's lead assistant, took over as head coach of the Phoenix Suns in April, while Billy Lange, Philadelphia's de facto defensive coordinator, was named head coach of St. Joseph's University in March.
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