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NBA News: Pistons Will Consider Former 76er for Head Coach Job

The Detroit Pistons will interview a former 76ers player for their head coaching job.
Justin Grasso|
NBA News: Pistons Will Consider Former 76er for Head Coach Job
NBA News: Pistons Will Consider Former 76er for Head Coach Job

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Philadelphia 76ersDetroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are on the hunt for their next head coach. Following the team’s final game of the regular season last weekend, the head coach Dwane Casey announced that he would be stepping down as the coaching staff’s leader and transitioning into a front-office job.

To no surprise, several candidates were quickly linked to the Pistons after Casey’s announcement. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Milwaukee assistant Charles Lee, Toronto assistant Adrian Griffin, former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, and Miami assistant Chris Quinn are all on Detroit’s radar as potential candidates.

On Friday, Shams Charania of The Athletic tossed another name into the mix, as former Philadelphia 76ers guard Kevin Ollie will get consideration for the job.

In 1995, Ollie went undrafted out of UConn. He got his start in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks. From then on, Ollie bounced around the league, playing with a ton of teams.

The former player-turned-coach has had stints with the Mavs, Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings, Sixers, New Jersey Nets, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Ollie had several stints with the Sixers, playing with the team in 1999-2000, 2000-2001, and from 2004 to 2005. He was also on the Sixers during their last championship run in 2001. 

Since concluding his playing career in 2010, Ollie took up a career in coaching. He started at the NCAA level as UConn’s assistant in 2010. By 2012, Ollie was the head coach. During his second season in charge, Ollie coached the Huskies to a Championship in 2014. 

Following Ollie’s stint at UConn, he joined Overtime Elite, becoming the head coach. His next job could be at the NBA level, as the Pistons have taken an interest in interviewing Ollie.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_. 

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s Philadelphia 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia Threads: @JGrassoMedia

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