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David Fizdale is not the 30th best coach in the league, Sir Charles in Charge

By Ryan Snellings

Dec 10, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Miami Heat assistant head coach David Fizdale during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 10, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Miami Heat assistant head coach David Fizdale during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Brett Brown

May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown represents his team during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. The Philadelphia 76ers received the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown represents his team during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. The Philadelphia 76ers received the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Barring some meteoric rise to superstardom by Ben Simmons, Philadelphia should finish as one of the league’s bottom teams. Now, that’s not a knock on Brett Brown. He has to play with the hand he’s been dealt. The guy has a bunch of young kids and we’ll get a better idea of his coaching ability in a few seasons based on their development. But, I think the ability to manage stars is extremely important and there’s no guarantee Brett Brown will be able to handle that once Simmons, Okafor and Joel Embiid reach their potential.

David Fizdale already has experience dealing with superstars. During his time as an assistant in Miami, he worked with their “Big Three”. In his interview with David Aldridge, he explained:

"I just kept an agenda of how do we win a title? How do I help Spo? That’s all I cared about. I always said ‘if we win, we all will profit.’ So forget about the profit part of it; let’s just win and the rest will take care of itself. I just focused on that part of it all the time. I dug in a trench with Spo. You’re talking about the biggest egos. If they think they’re right, they’ll dig in. And if Spo is right, I needed to be that extra weight to pull the scale. And, look, if he wasn’t right, I didn’t just jump in with him. But at the same time, I didn’t bail on him and sell him out to the guys."

Dealing with that group in Miami will be inexplicably beneficial to Fizdale moving forward. Luckily, Memphis’ stars, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, don’t seem to have same big egos. Fizdale gets the nod over Brett Brown just for the ability to navigate that area.

Result: Fizdale

Next: Scott Brooks

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