In what has turned out to be a loss season in the City of Brotherly love, Doug Collins has decided not to return to the Philadelphia 76ers as their head coach.
With the franchise in decline after the Andrew Bynum trade was a massive flop, Collins decided he wanted no part of what could be a long rebuilding effort.
The Sixers are 33-47 and in ninth place in the Eastern Conference a year after they won 35 games and a round in the playoffs in last year’s lockout-shortened season. The Sixers finish out the season Monday in Detroit and Wednesday in Indiana.
Collins, a four-time All-Star with the Sixers, returned to the franchise in 2010 and led them to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons.
Bynum never played a minute for the Sixers after coming over to the team in the blockbuster trade that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers. Due to injuries on both knees and an ill advised bowling game that contributed to his worsen condition, Bynum will be a free agent, looking for big dollars. Without Bynum and now Collins the 76ers are in for big rebuilding year next season. There are also rumors that Team president Rod Thorn was set not to return next season as well, so the front office could be in the midst of a shake up as well.
It is unclear what Collins will do next if he will stay with the team in another capacity or if he will return to being an NBA analyst as he was on TNT after leaving the Washington Wizards in 1998.
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