Getty Head coach Bobby Jackson of the Stockton Kings
The Philadelphia 76ers are making more additions to their coaching staff, as NBA Insider Shams Charania reported that former NBA veteran Bobby Jackson is joining Nick Nurse’s coaching staff as an assistant.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1667949157565231113
NBA Insider Marc Stein not only reported the same thing on his Substack but added who might be coming with him.
“Hearing that Sacramento mainstay Bobby Jackson, most recently head coach of the Kings’ G League affiliate in Stockton, Calif., is headed to Philadelphia to join Nick Nurse’s new 76ers staff and that Raptors developmental coach Rico Hines is a candidate to join him,” Stein wrote.
Jackson played in the NBA from 1997 to 2009, where he won the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award with the Sacramento Kings in 2003. Jackson had been the head coach of the Kings’ G-League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, since 2021.
The Sixers lost one of their assistants, Sam Cassell, to the Boston Celtics on June 5, though Cassell’s departure may have been inevitable, seeing how he came to the team at the exact same time former head coach Doc Rivers did and left shortly after Rivers was fired.
James Harden-Chris Paul Trade Has ‘Circulated’
Though James Harden’s most speculated destinations this offseason have been the Sixers and Houston Rockets, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported that another option could be on the table.
Fischer said that the idea of the Sixers potentially trading Harden to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for former teammate Chris Paul has made the rounds.
“There’s the idea of Phoenix exchanging Paul for James Harden, which has quietly circulated around some league personnel since the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago,” Fischer wrote. “A reunion between Harden and Durant makes for great fodder, and the bearded point guard could feasibly pick up his 2023-24 player option on the condition Philadelphia trades him to the Suns.”
Fischer added that Paul has been involved in a trade like that back when he and Harden became teammates on the Rockets, but he added that this route may not be the most financially prosperous for Harden.
“You may remember Paul pulled that exact maneuver to join Harden in Houston in 2017. Harden, though, stands to gain quite a bit more financially from either staying pat with the 76ers or returning to the Rockets and their $60-plus million in-waiting cap space.”
Insider Says Damian Lillard Trade is Unlikely
The Sixers have to weigh some of their options this summer, especially if Harden chooses to leave. If Harden opts to skip town, the Sixers could look into trading for Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, but NBA Insider Chris Haynes says they wouldn’t have the assets to get Lillard.
“Nets, Miami, and possibly, I don’t know, Philly, but they don’t have what it takes, so I’ll leave it at Nets and Miami.” Haynes said on “The Dan Patrick Show” on June 8.
The Sixers lost a lot of their assets when they both traded for Harden and traded away Al Horford. A trade discussion would likely start by offering Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris, and that may not be enough to entice the Trail Blazers to agree to a trade.
