http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2001/0626/1219211.html Tuesday, June 26, 2001 Deal for Cheeks reportedly is being finalized -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ESPN.com news services PHILADELPHIA -- Former Philadelphia 76ers guard Maurice Cheeks will be the next head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia is reporting. Cheeks, an assistant with the 76ers, flew out to Portland on Tuesday afternoon and is in the process of finalizing terms of the deal, the television station reported. According to WPVI, an official announcement will likely take place by the end of this week. Mike Dunleavy was fired May 8 after the Blazers were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. The 44-year-old Cheeks doesn't have head coaching experience. He was a four-time All-Star point guard during his 15 NBA seasons, the first 11 with Philadelphia. He was a key part of the 1982-83 team that swept the Lakers in the NBA Finals. Portland has the No. 19 selection in the first round and the No. 50 pick in the second round. The Blazers haven't had a lottery pick in their history, and the only way they can get there this year is through a trade. Blazers GM Bob Whitsitt, who likes to be secretive about any personnel moves, has said he he'd prefer to have a coach hired before he makes any major changes to the roster. "I would be reluctant to want to do any roster moves without our coach and our coaching staff in place," Whitsitt said. "I'm not anticipating doing anything, but some guys may call you and throw some interesting things at you. I would hope if they did, they're the kind of things I can push off into summer until we have a staff on board." ------------------ president of the sleepy floyd to hall of fame club. http://www.it-is-truth.org http://members.fortunecity.com/omar369
Too bad it wasn't Drexler. I would have cheered for the Blazers had that been the case. By the way, Shareef was traded. ------------------ Protrolls.com! I wish I could come up with a decent signature, but I can't. You'll just have to live with this one. My Terrible Mock Draft
Damn it!!! I loved Cheeks when he was with the 6ers. Now I have to root against him in every single game. He won't last long there though, IMO, not because he will be a bad coach, but because it's not a good situation. ------------------ 15 years later... Zoom
OK, ZRB, we get the friggin point! If you say that Shareef was traded one more time I'm going to convince Clutch to trade you to the Golden State Warriors for future considerations! ------------------ Anger is a weed. Hate is a tree.
I'm glad he got the opportunity, because he deserved a chance to be a head coach. But unfortunately, I'll also have to root against him because he's in Portland. ------------------
