Report Has the Sixers Extending Doug Collins ‘Soon'

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There's certainly about to be some turnover on the roster, but it doesn't look like the head coach will be going anywhere.
Bob Ford has a story in this morning's Inquirer discussing Collins' place within the organization and relationship with the team's ownership group, led by Josh Harris. AU posted his own exit interviews this morning, but Ford reports that Harris has actually been sitting in the meetings with Collins, a matter that Ford describes as "unusual," but one that "indicates a working partnership that forms the core of the team's current decision-making hierarchy."
Shortly thereafter, he arrives at the talk of an extension:

"Harris said Sunday that Collins' contract, which is guaranteed for one more year and contains a club option for the 2013-14 season, probably will be extended soon.

"We haven't sat down and had that discussion yet, but we want Doug to be here a long, long time," Harris said. "We consider Doug a real asset of the organization."

For a coach who was so overwhelmingly popular last season, Collins faced a barrage of criticism this season after the team's downturn following their 20-9 start. His coaching style was called overbearing, he was questioned for how he managed the team's important young talent and a report surfaced that he had lost his locker room.
The Sixers limped into the playoffs, caught two lucky breaks in round one, defeated a Bulls team they otherwise wouldn't have, and used some of the confidence gained to push an experienced, albeit banged up, Celtic team to a series-deciding Game 7, only to miss out on the  Eastern Conference Finals by one game.
And suddenly the guy who was getting harpooned by fans and media members is back on top and more than likely around for this team's foreseeable future. Of course, its unclear that anything has really changed about Collins from when he was catching the most heat. He appears to be something of a micromanager, and his style, moving forward, is going to need to get in sync with the development of Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner, the two players who will conceivably be staying on with Collins for the longer term and the two players for which he was most criticized related to their individual use.
Don't read this as any sort of anti-coach take on the news. I've been pro-Collins and will, in all likelihood, remain that way, though it's easy to spot some of his shortcomings and recognize how they could be grating over time, as is the case with any coach. I just bring this up because it seems very little, if anything has actually changed with this team except that some dumb luck put them in the most fortuitous situation to gain experience and build confidence for the future. 
But Evan is still Evan. Jrue is still Jrue. And Doug is still Doug.
Now we just have to see if they learned anything about how to best manage each other's particular strengths and weaknesses heading into season three, because, as Ford writes, "Change is coming, and perhaps very soon, but the man standing in the middle of the room isn't going anywhere."

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