Written by Chris Larkin at Complete Philly Coverage
There was some criticism surrounding the Sixers process in hiring a coach before the 2013 season. Analysts and fans alike said the team was moving too slow in its effort to hire Doug Collins’ replacement. I was never really bothered by how slowly they moved- I just wanted them to get the right guy- but after a few days in August had passed even I was getting worried. It was all moot in the end as the Sixers hired Brett Brown to be the team’s head coach just a few days later. The team had to convince Brown to take the job as he was also being offered the opportunity to become Gregg Popovich’s lead assistant in San Antonio. Brown wanted to be a head coach, but was worried about job security in the Sixers rebuild so the team’s front office had to make sure they could convince Brown that he had time to develop players and turn the team around. The Sixers gave Brown a 4 year contract and then the rebuild was officially under way.
It is now year three of the rebuild and Brown has shown some real coaching ability despite an abysmal win-loss record. The players who have stuck around have improved mightily and Brett has shown himself to be a solid defensive coach. The pinnacle of that success came last year when the Sixers finished 13th in the NBA in defensive rating despite a deeply flawed roster. Brett has his flaws as a coach (the offense isn’t always top notch) but I think he is a really good NBA coach who could do great things with an improved roster.
So why would Brown’s job be in jeopardy if he has performed well in his time here? The answer is that I’m not sure that Brett will want to stick around once his contract is up. Sure, Brown signed up for a rebuild but I’m not sure he knew it would still be this bad. I certainly didn’t think the team would be this much of a work in progress at this stage of the rebuild. Brett Brown, like most Sixers fans, probably expected the team’s roster to be farther along but injuries and lottery balls have hurt the team’s chances at short term success in terms of wins and losses. The chance at Andrew Wiggins turned into 2 injured seasons of Joel Embiid. Waiting for Dario Saric to come over is hard for a coach with minimal talent on the roster. Three draft picks that we expected to convey have rolled over into this season. The Sixers haven’t been actively trying their hardest to win in the short term, but luck hasn’t been on Brett Brown’s side.
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