The 76ers held a press conference yesterday to tell us something we were already 90% for certain was going to happen…Tony DiLeo will NOT be the head coach of the Sixers in 2009-10. Tony did not get fired, nor did he reisgn instead he “withdrew his name form consideration” and will return to his job as the team’s senior vice president and assistant general manager. It’s the first time we have ever heard that line. When in the history of sports did a current coach ever have to withdraw his name from consideration for a position that he currently holds? We have to say it was a sly little move by Ed Stefanski and the higher ups down at Comcast.
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For most colleges and universities around the United States students are either finished, or finishing up their semesters and waiting for their final grades to be given out. In the NBA only eight teams remain in the running for an NBA Championship, which means that there are 22 teams that are currently out of commission. Obviously, the Sixers are one of the 22 teams out of action after their series loss to Orlando last week and here at Philadunkia we have decided to hand out grades to the players on the team based on their regular season/post season production this year, as well as a few other factors.

Some players performed like Sean Penn in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, while others performed like Matt Damon in “Good Will Hunting”. There was a strict syllabus of expectation for players on the Sixers when the season started, and in order to get an A you had to play above and beyond your capabilities in nearly every category. The grades are in for Royal Ivey as he starts off this series.
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Don’t be so quick to chuckle at this proposal. We kicked it around a little bit here at the Philadunkia offices  before putting it out there and it’s not that crazy of an idea. Obviously it would have to be a sign and trade, but here’s why we think it could make sense for both organizations.

1) Neither player is exactly thrilled with the current team he is playing on.
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At this point we’re not even sure if Tony DiLeo is going to lose his job. You can easily make a case for both sides of that argument. We’d lean more toward the side of the argument that says the late season collapse and the dreadful Game 6 effort are evidence that it’s time for him to go, but we would not be furious if DiLeo was patrolling the Sixers sideline again next year. Still even though he technically is still the 76ers head coach, there has been a lot of talk about who should replace DeLio.

When / if DiLeo gets relieved of his coaching duties, the one name we keep hearing mentioned as a possible replacement for DiLeo is former Dallas head coach and current ESPN analyst Avery Johnson. There seems to be a good deal of momentum building for Avery in print, or the radio and on the streets. here in Philly. We believe that Eddie Jordan is a more logical choice given Stefanski’s and Jordan’s ties to the Nets organization, but Johnson suddenly seems like real a possibility.
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As if the 76ers Game 6 debacle in which the home team looked like a bad CYO squad was not depressing enough, the manner in which players have been throwing each other and the coaching staff “under the bus” after “Black Thursday” is enough to make us seek professional help.

As we sort through all the slams, quotes, statements and spin control one question keeps coming up here at the Philadunkia offices, “How did the 76ers organization keep a lid on all this drama for an entire season?”
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So long season.  I’ve always heard that you can’t be let down if you don’t expect too much, and boy did my expectations sure let me down this time.  Heading into game 6, I actually fooled myself into believing that the 76ers had a chance to beat the Orlando Magic without Dwight Howard and Courtney Lee.  How foolish of me.  How naive must I have been to have believed that a team at full strength, in an elimination game in their home building, could put forth the effort to defeat an opponent without two of their starters, including their best player?  The worst part about the Sixers embarrassing 114-89 loss, besides the fact that I’m forced to dwell on it until October, is that fact that I was actually convinced that the Sixers could defeat the Magic sans Dwight, and force a seventh game, and then even potentially surge into the second round.  However, my fantasy did not lost for long, and after the team came out flatter than a ten year old basketball, I was quickly dragged back down to reality and forced to accept another first round failure. 
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