Brett

Brown

A member of Gregg Popovich’s coaching tree has returned to San Antonio, with Brown’s hiring being made official by the Spurs Thursday afternoon. Prior to his serving as 76ers head coach, Brown spent 11 seasons on Popovich’s coaching staff from 2002-13, winning four NBA titles in the process.

This was inevitable based on previous reports and the 76ers clearly don’t want to waste any more time. Woj adds that GM Elton Brand will “continue to oversee basketball operations,” but the “personnel and structure in the front office is undergoing significant evaluation and change is looming.” Some of the candidates for the open coaching position includes 76ers assistant Ime Udoka, Clippers assistant Ty Lue, Villanova’s Jay Wright, and former Grizzlies and Kings coach Dave Joerger.

This is inevitable and it comes on the heels of a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that said Brown “is without internal momentum” to return. There could be more changes in Philly as well but for now it sounds like GM Elton Brand is safe -- Shams notes that Brand just had his 2021 option picked up a few months ago and that he has maintained a good relationship with ownership. 76ers assistant Ime Udoka, Clippers assistant Ty Lue, Villanova’s Jay Wright, and former Grizzlies and Kings coach Dave Joerger are the names being explored right now but more should surface.

Philly just got swept in the first round by Boston, so this isn’t a big surprise. Adrian Wojnarowski writes that “a final decision could come soon,” and it’s hard to see what might inspire management to keep Brown in place.

Joel Embiid (ankle), Tobias Harris (ankle), Al Horford (knee) and Josh Richardson (rest) will all be back in action today, but it sounds like there’s a chance they won’t play their usual minutes, making them semi-risky DFS targets.

Nothing out of the ordinary here and Brown adds that he expects “normal numbers” once the eight seeding games begin. As for his rotation, Brown said he’ll go with a 10-man rotation at first and then trim it down to nine once the playoffs start. With so much down time due to the pandemic, Brown said his bandwidth is wider right now and that players will have a chance to earn spots in the rotation.

There were some murmurs that Brown was coaching for his job during the Toronto series, but all that separated the two teams was an insane Kawhi Leonard buzzer beater. Brown met with GM Elton Brand on Monday to discuss their offseason priorities, as they will be looking to keep free agents Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and J.J. Redick while retooling their bench as well.

Stein says that he’s been told that Brown has little chance of surviving a second round exit. It’s kind of crazy that Brown, who has led the Sixers two their two best seasons since the turn of the century, is still facing this sort of scrutiny. Both teams have a lot on the line in Sunday’s winner-take-all Game 7.

“As I’ve said to you, we feel we could have played in the NBA Finals [last season],” said Brown. “I understand the magnitude of that statement, but I stand by it and I own it. It is our goal to go play in an NBA final.” The Larry O’Brien trophy returning to Philly would complete The Process, but they’ll still need to get through Boston and Toronto before thinking about Golden State.

Brown has emerged as a ‘strong contender’ for the Nuggets job, but he’s also a real candidate for the Sixers, especially since GM Sam Hinkie reportedly wants to hire a young coach. Brown is the latest in a long line of Spurs’ assistants with head coach abilities, just one more reason for San Antonio’s perennial success.