PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Philadelphia 76ers are moving forward with their coaching search, setting up interviews with assistants Dwane Casey of the Dallas Mavericks and Tom Thibodeau of the Boston Celtics.
An NBA executive with knowledge of the situation said Casey will interview with the 76ers. The person spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because an announcement has not been made.Must-read:
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The Sixers confirmed Monday they will interview Thibodeau.
The timing for both interviews was not immediately known.
After spending 11 seasons as an assistant in Seattle, Casey finally got the chance to run a team of his own when the Minnesota Timberwolves hired him in 2005. But the run was short-lived.
The Wolves went 33-49 in Casey's first year and were 20-20 when vice president Kevin McHale fired him in 2007-08. He spent this season on Rick Carlisle's staff in Dallas.
Thibodeau has spent 19 years as an NBA assistant coach, including a two-year stint with the Sixers in the 1990s, and just completed his second season on the Celtics staff. With Boston's season over after a Game 7 elimination against Orlando, Thibodeau was free to talk with the Sixers.
Thibodeau is known as a defensive specialist and was on New York's staff when the Knicks set a then-NBA record by holding 33 consecutive opponents under 100 points in the 2000-01 season.
The Sixers interviewed former Wizards coach Eddie Jordan on Friday. He's the only known candidate to have interviewed with Sixers president Ed Stefanski. The Philadelphia job became vacant when Tony DiLeo stepped down last week and returned to the front office.
Philadelphia went 41-41 and was eliminated in six games by the Orlando Magic. It was the second straight season the Sixers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
The Sixers are not commenting on the coaching search. Stefanski said last week the search was wide open.
"You look at assistants, you look at head coaches, you look at everything," he said.
