Joel Embiid: BS there’s rumors about 76ers firing Brett Brown

The report: The 76ers would likely fire Brett Brown if they lost in the second round.

After an emotional Game 7 loss to the Raptors in the second round yesterday, Philadelphia star Joel Embiid gathered himself to defend his coach.

Embiid, via Noah Levick of NBC Sports:

I heard a lot of these rumors and stuff. I just thought it was bulls---. He’s done a fantastic job. He’s been there through everything, and then this year I think he grew even more as a coach. It’s hard when you’ve got five guys that can score the ball and that can do a lot of things on the basketball court. It’s hard to put it together. At the end of the day, it comes down to the players. I don’t think he should have anything to worry about. He’s an amazing coach, better person. Obviously I’ve got a lot of love for him. If there was someone to blame, put it all on me.

Embiid is the 76ers’ franchise player. His voice carries weight. This isn’t a tepid statement of support. This is a clear directive not to fire Brown.

Will management listen to Embiid? We’ll see. If Philadelphia fires Brown and hires someone who helps the team win, I bet Embiid would quickly get over it.

But Embiid is right: The roster was difficult to coach. Embiid, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris are all talented. Their skill sets don’t cleanly align.

That doesn’t mean the 76ers should keep Brown. If they can upgrade, they should. But punishing him for not going far enough with this team would be far to simplistic.

Should Philadelphia fire Brown? It’s a complex question that deserves far more consideration than whether the 76ers won a Game 7.

It’s also only one of many questions facing Philadelphia this summer.