Brett Brown Key To Sixer Success

Bret Stuter

Apr 4, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown reacts to a play during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena. Hornets defeated the 76ers 92-91. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Brett Brown Key To Sixer Success

Today’s NBA is not the NBA I knew as a young man. The game has changed in a subtle but significant way. There are so many young players now, players who now enter the NBA now at the ripe old age of 19. In fact, if you could travel back in time to the era when I was first becoming a Philadelphia 76ers fan, you would find a league where a four year college degree was the norm, a degree that would take a player four years to complete. Then, it came as no surprise to learn that the expected average age of rookies entering the NBA would come in at 22 years of age. For the Philadelphia 76ers, 22 years old would place you into the older half of the roster.

In that earlier period, much of a young man’s growth came during his collegiate experience. First loves, first right to drink, and many of the other challenges that impact a young adults life into a mature and more responsible version had already happened. The college basketball coach, taking on more than basketball, mentored those young men through life’s many challenges and lessons.

More from The Sixer Sense

As a head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, Brett Brown is called upon to do more than just coach these young men in basketball. He’s called upon to advise them in wisdom, to set priorities, to be and to hold them accountable, to commit themselves to a distant future goal and to the common good of the team. As a young man enters the NBA, he is experiencing a partial realization of his life’s ambition. He’s “made it”. He’s a professional athlete, a member of the elite basketball group known as the National Basketball Association. Whereas to that young man’s initial instinct is to pause, breathe deeply, and enjoy the moment, it falls to head coach Brett Brown to gently shake them out of that euphoria, point them to the basketball court and to the gymnasium, and reveal that the hard work has just begun. The battle to remain tied to the NBA must be fought every day.

On the other hand, there is also a group of young men who fall to the other end of the spectrum. From the moment they hear their name called into service as a Philadelphia 76er, they can visualize all of the hard work and dedication required. But they falter for other reasons – first time away from home and the protected environment of a college basketball program, and now they are exposed to high income and so many expensive distractions. Now, in a new city, making new friends and trying to remain atop a myriad of decisions which could be critical to their career down the road, they hesitate. The sheer weight of the consequences gives them a moment’s hesitation, a reexamination of their personal goals. To this group, it falls to Brown to pull back the malaise curtain and reveal the thrilling theater of professional basketball.

Next: United We Stand

Feb 27, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward

Robert Covington

(white jacket) reacts with team mates after a score against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers defeated the Wizards 89-81. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

United We Stand

That type of mentoring, of providing the right mix of encouragement and discipline, is not easily done from a distance. It draws individuals closer. The coach becomes invested in his player’s success, and roots for it secretly. The players feel gratitude and respect for the wisdom that is given freely and without hesitation. Yes, this NBA is more than a professional sport. It is an incubator of maturation, a system of bringing the best knowledge, practices, and wisdom to the avail of young men, some of whom are just emerging from one year of college.

"EDITORS NOTE: The NBA high school draftees are players who have been drafted to the National Basketball Association (NBA) straight out of high school without playing basketball at the collegiate level. The process of jumping directly from high school to the professional level is also known as going prep-to-pro. Since 2006, the practice of drafting high school players has been prohibited by the new collective bargaining agreement, which requires that players who entered the draft be 19 years of age and at least one year removed from high school. Some of the NBAs greatest players have taken this “Prep-to-Pro” route, including Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, 76er great Darryl Dawkins, LeBron James, Amar’e Stoudemire to name a few."

Even with the delay of emerging basketball talent for one year before entering the NBA, much of life’s most critical lessons remain in the windshield. Young men need varying degrees of guidance, reassurance, and sometimes just a good listener. Brett Brown, as the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, is asked to give all of that, in copious amounts, to whomever asks. And then, sometimes, Brett Brown is asked to say goodbye to those players he has grown so attached to, and say hello to the next wave of youthful hopeful faces who want so desperately to make this team.

"“When you start losing people that you are very fond of and have tremendous respect for, there is a human side of it that bothers me because you are trying to grow chemistry, you are trying to grow a culture. That takes a hit when teammates lose teammates. There is a respect, effort-wise, of how they go about their business. There is a reality to our job that is just business in the NBA, but it doesn’t mean it has to feel right.” – Brett Brown"

Brett Brown has had to say goodbye to a number of young players he had invested in, and grown fond of. Who wouldn’t be fond of the young men he’s had to mentor, and care for? Young men entered the league with talent and a blank canvas. Each career has received one or more brush strokes from the Brown’s brush. And while the greatest talent so far to be taken from Brown is likely Michael Carter-Williams, it wasn’t the loss of MCW that caused such a heartfelt quote from Brown This was his reaction to losing Brandon Davies. Brandon Davies was an emerging young talent who was an undrafted talent. But he was diligent in his effort, working long hours in the gym and in listening and learning from coach Brown.

"He (Davies) is a role player, but we saw him grow his perimeter game. We saw him make some turn-and-face jump shots. He always played with that reckless abandon. He is one of those low-maintenance guys that teams look for who want to have high-character, solid people at the 15, 14, 13 roster spots. I think his better days are ahead of him because he improved with us.”"

Brown has had to say goodbye to players he’s coached, mentored, and befriended. He took losing Alexy Shved hard. When the 76ers traded both Michael Carter Williams and K.J. McDandiels, Brown took it even more soberly:

"“I am going to miss those guys. I appreciate the work they put in. They gave A-plus efforts, and they were great teammates. They showed tremendous improvement.” – Brown’s response after trade of MCW and KJD"

Next: The Great Wallenda

Oct 12, 2013; Concord, NC, USA; Nik Wallenda walks a wire 140 feet above pit road at Charlotte Motor Speedway prior to the the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports

Brown Becomes The Great Wallenda

The Sixers have placed Brett Brown onto a high wire, and asked him to walk quickly. If he leans too far to the caring about his players side, the constant trades, releases and personnel moves take far too great of a toll. His heart breaks a little each time a young man is ushered off to a new NBA city, and a new team. But if he leans too far to the uncaring side, he never connects with his players. He becomes an academian. His practices would involve little more than a workout of 15 individuals with little regard for sacrifice or teamwork.

So Brown balances on that high wire each day. He’s been up there on that high-wire for two years, and the Sixers have him under contract for two more years coming up. After that? It would be hard to guess. Perhaps he can hold it together long enough to build a winner. Perhaps. But Brett Brown insists on a work ethic from his players, a standing order that is not compromised, non-negotiable. The saga of Joel Embiid‘s surgery to draft to rehab for a year to optimism and some workouts to setback to second surgery have taken Brown to his limits

"“There were times I wasn’t happy. If you can’t coach your best players, I call it buying time and dying. You have nothing. I tell my guys all the time you want me to coach you. You want to show up and be on time. You want to do the right thing. You want to act the right way. Nerlens (Noel) was no different. Other young players go through the same thing, and (as a coach), you go through heartache. You go through things where you have to stand up and say that is not part of our culture. That is normal with any young player and Joel was a part of that. When he started going to the court, his world changed. He had his spirit again, and things got a little bit easier. I don’t begrudge Joel or Nerlens — they’re 20-year olds. It is my job to coach them and build a culture. That is what we experienced this year, but we will be better off for it, like we saw with Nerlens, when [Embiid] is a playing member of the Philadelphia 76ers.”"

But despite the magic of the moves, and the pain of a continuous stream of departing talent and protégés, Brown presses on. For King And Country, or some form of nobility that comes when a professional fulfills all duties and then goes beyond the call of duty. But Brett Brown is quite knowledgeable of the game of basketball. It’s that knowledge that makes him a key to Sixer success. But it also forces him to point out when the Emperor-has-no-clothes, or in this case, the fact that the Philadelphia 76ers need to identify superior talent at the point guard position.

"“At the end of the day, if you want to play in June and you want to play deep in June, you’re gonna have to have a point guard. I think it’s a point guard’s league. They’re the commander in chief, they’re ball dominant, they’re an extension of the coach. At some point you’re gonna need that. As it relates to us, well we want it, we want it now. Anything that expedites rushed decisions, cloudy decisions, we don’t—I said it to the press before—we don’t want to get pregnant with average players.”- Sixers head coach Brett Brown admits to Michael Barkann and Ike Reese on 94 WIP Mike & Ike Show."

Remember that trade of Brandon Davies? Davies was a 6’10” prospect on the roster when the only other bigs were Nerlens Noel and Henry Sims. That forced Brown to convert team play towards a small ball scheme. Less than a year later, what do we have? A loaded front court. In fact, with the current roster the team boasts rehabbing 7’0″ center Joel Embiid, 6’11” center/power forward Nerlens Noel, 6’11” center Jahlil Okafor, 6’10” power forward Furkan Aldemir, 6’10” power forward Richaun Homes, and 6’10” center Henry Sims. That’s quite a shift for a team in less than a year’s time. The expectation is that Brett Brown will have this team coached and ready by the first game on Tuesday, October 6, 2015.

Next: Water Torture

Apr 15, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown rubs his head in reaction to a turnover against the Miami Heat during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Heat won 105-101. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

“Water Torture”

The Philadelphia 76ers have had one of the most futile two year periods for any professional sports franchise from the city of Philadelphia. In fact, the team began Brown’s second season with a 16 game losing streak. That streak smashed previous records, but not in a good way. Brett Brown gets the struggles of a team built on the promise of tomorrow at the expense of today. Brett Brown was asked what it is like to coach a team that surpasses such a record set in 1972-73. He responded in a surprisingly optimistic manner.

"“It isn’t hard. I asked my guys ‘Tell me the team that had the longest losing streak to start the season.’ One of them knew. I said, ‘Tell me the names of three players on the team.’ Nobody knew. I said, ‘Who was the general manager?’ Nobody answered. I said, ‘Tell me who the owners were.’ Nobody knew. I asked who the coach was, and they all knew.”"

That optimism comes with a price. The price is that the head coach must believe that tomorrow will be better. Brown can weather a storm temporarily, but he is far too professional and classy to say the reality. But I’m not, at least not on this topic. The cavalry had better arrive this season. Progress had better begin to show up in the win column. The Sports Medicine, the Analytics, the Top Talent, and the promise of a better tomorrow had best begin to congeal now, before it’s too late.

This man Brett Brown is a patient man, more patient than many who be ranked inferior in basketball wisdom, and coaching ability. Brett Brown is in deep in this organization, sitting upon the helm of the ship now in the very eye of the storm. Going into the storm willingly was bad enough. But now that the team has been battered in the two years of losses, faltering at the ticket office, and now the team must find a way back through the buffeting and painful process to find success again?

The “bostralian accent” speaking Brett Brown signed the Philadelphia 76ers was brought in on a four year deal with eyes wide open, realizing the team was a likely four-year project. (we have since learned the team is on a seven year plan). He discusses the team here:

He didn’t hesitate to take on the huge challenges of a team with a roster build that remained out of sight. Nerlens Noel was drafted with a hope to return to the basketball court following a sucessful rehab of his knee. Then he was asked to repeat that process for a foot injured Joel Embiid. He’s been asked to await the return from Europe of another top prospect Dario Saric. And he continues to do so. But the pain of losing, the pain of watching the stadium seats empty before the game concludes, knowing that tomorrow’s crowd will likely be fewer spectators, cuts this pround man deeply.

"“The good news is it’s the NBA, you get another game tomorrow. The bad news is it doesn’t go away. It’s like water dripping on your forehead, and there’s no place to hide. And so as a group, we have to figure out a way to compete. The thing I feel bad about is that to see what they do every single day. They don’t cheat. They don’t take off days, they work their tails off. The whole process is solid. but to come out here and play a game like that (against the Dallas Mavericks). They are the leagues oldest most experienced team and we are the league’s youngest least experienced. And it shows. “"

Next: Final Countdown

Mar 13, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown reacts during the second half of a game against the Sacramento Kings at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 114-107. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Final Countdown

The team’s competitive resolve has not broken. We’ve done an article about this Sixers team that competes until the final whistle. The NBA needs a better 76er team. A Philadelphia franchise that is falling in value is bad for the competitiveness of the overall NBA. Team president and general manager Sam Hinkie needs success sooner than later. Even if 2016 is the year of the perfect storm in personnel acquisition, the team will need to show signs of improvement this season to bolt on the news faces and talents. The winning culture that so many hope for in that 2016-2017 season must germinate this season if the team plans to have any long term success. But nobody needs success more than coach Brown. Nobody.

The team is on shaky ground with the head coach. Brett Brown knew when he arrived that he would be given raw young talented men to coach up to NBA quality production. But nobody copied him on the memo that is was a “and keep on coaching up talented young men for a year so that we can trade them for the next batch”. But Brown knows to build a team, you must have consistency. So in the interview at the last game of the season, Brown spotted some sand and drew a line through it.

"“To coach gypsies or to have to coach a revolving door is not what I am looking for. I hope that if we can have something that is stable and consistent that we are going to be able to talk a little bit easier at this time next year. We need needle movers. We need talent. If we can hold on to a group for a while, we can move people forward.”"

So what is moving forward? It’s filling the stands with cheering fans again. It’s a significant uptick in the win column this season. But even more than all of these things. It’s halting the “short selling” of a player. It’s giving head coach Brett Brown an opportunity not only to work with the youngest roster in the NBA, but enough time for both the head coach and the young men to witness the successful results of that collaborative effort together. If the Sixers cannot find a way to do this, Brett Brown may find exactly what he is looking for. But it won’t be in Philadelphia.

Next: Would Kelly Cut Sixer Embiid?

More from The Sixer Sense

Bret Stuter

Bret Stuter is the site expert for Ramblin Fan who has covered the Los Angeles Rams for 5 years. Swept up into loving professional sports from a family that listened to games on the radio, he is at home cheering for HC Sean McVay and the Rams. Articles have been featured on B/R, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, Sporting News, and Washington Post. Bret loves to fish, and watch games at sports bars over pizza.