CAMDEN, N.J. — New Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse is one of the more innovative thinkers in the league at the moment. He is expected to help the Sixers get over the hump in the Eastern Conference and finally reach the NBA Finals.
To do so, he will have to be on the same page with MVP Joel Embiid. The big fella and Nurse have gone back-and-forth exchanging barbs with each other through the media in the past and one has to wonder if the two of them will work together in this situation.
Embiid was reportedly a big influence in this coaching hire, and Nurse believes they can co-exist.
“I understand there were some exchanges and things,” Nurse said. “I didn’t even really — when you’re out there in the heat of really competing, I don’t really remember them. I accidentally had my TV on yesterday and I saw a couple of them and I was like ‘Wow, they were really good.’ Like I was like ‘Man, I don’t even remember that, but now I know what everybody’s talking about here a little bit.’”
Embiid is never one to mince words. He will say what’s on his mind and Nurse grew to respect that. The two are obviously on great terms now as they look to move toward their championship goals.
“Then it kinda grew, for me anyway, a respect level of him. We threw one thing and even in that playoff series, a game later, he would adjust to it and were banking on this we could do and he’d adjust to it. It was a tremendous amount of respect level for me.”
Obviously, Embiid is a great player and Nurse is a great coach. The two will have to work together to make this work in Philadelphia, and their relationship is going to have to be tight and solid.
“As far as building a relationship, listen, I think he really competes and he wants to be great,” Nurse finished on Embiid. “It’s a collaborative effort, how do you see it, how do I see it, let’s figure this out, and for me, I just want him to have as much success as possible and that translates to team success as well.”
President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey chimed in and explained why he included Embiid in the coaching search.
“I would say for a coach to succeed in this league, he has to have a great relationship with his players,” Morey explained. “Especially, his top players. Coach Nurse has talked to all the top players on the team, but in terms of the final decision on coach, that was mine.”
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