Brett Brown Loves Covington And Stauskas As Two Way Threats

Nov 29, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown looks on as forward

Robert Covington

prepares to inbound the ball against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Memphis defeated Phiadelphia 92-84. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Brett Brown Loves Covington And Stauskas As Two Way Threats

Brett Brown is a polarizing figure. Some fans feel the Philadelphia 76ers head coach is over his head, simply overwhelmed by a young team desperately trying to improve. Some fans feel he is the glue, the one man who can bring together the Sam Hinkie plan and keep 15 players positively motivated despite long losing streaks.

But one of the best attributes of Brown is his quotable catch phrases that say so much. In the past, the phrase has been “Pace, Space, and Pass”. But this season it’s been modified somewhat to “Pace and Post”, describing a up-tempo game of moving the ball down the court and passing the ball to center Jahlil Okafor at the post.

Beyond that, there has been this unmistakable sudden emergence of small forward Robert Covington. Beginning the season injured, after suffering two MCL sprains on his knee, he returned at a pedestrian pace in his first three games. But after that? Wow!

I can start talking there, but the story gets a better perspective when we focus the light on the fact that Robert Covington was never drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers. He is a proud product of the D-League, a farm system designed to assist basketball players with hopes of someday making the NBA in developing skills. Robert Covington is a shining example of why the program exists, and how well it can function.

#TBT... Last year's top #DLeagueDraft pick @Holla_At_Rob33, who wound up averaging 13.5 PPG with @Sixers in '14-15 pic.twitter.com/C7B2gPh6nE
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) November 5, 2015

Covington was originally signed as an undrafted free agent to the Houston Rockets prior to the 2013 season, playing seven games before being sent to their D-League affiliate, The Rio Grade Valley Vipers. In 42 games (41 starts) for the Vipers, Covington averaged 23 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.4 blocks in 34 minutes per game while also averaging 3.2 3-pointers made on 37.0% shooting. Despite impressive play with Rio Grande Valley, Covington was waived by the Rockets on the eve of the 2014-15 regular season. Five days later, he was selected first-overall by the Grand Rapids Drive in the D-League Draft.

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After spending training camp with the Pistons’ NBDL affiliate in preparation for their opener against the Bakersfield Jam, he received a call from the Sixers, who offered him a spot on their 15-man roster. He officially signed with the team on November 15, 2014 and made his debut with the team two days later, scoring six points in 17 minutes in a road loss to the Spurs.

"I have my sights set on everything that I want to do to prove that I belong here. I’ve just had that mindset [whenever] I’ve come in over the last few games, and Coach has believed in me, my teammates have believed in me, and they’ve found me. It’s been showing in my play.” – Robert Covington in 2014 interview"

When you look at the roster, it’s simply hard to believe that a young man who is just over a calendar year with the Sixers can be considered one of the veterans. But here he is, leading the team in many ways, and that’s the type of player Brett Brown so desperately needs on this team right now.

"“The verbiage nowadays of the most sought-after players are two-way players. Everybody knew Robert could shoot, but now he’s really guarding,” said Brown, pointing out to Sixers.com Brian Seltzer that Covington established a career-best with eight steals in Houston on Friday. “We’ve asked [Covington] to be a two-way player, to take that skill of shooting, and now go guard. And I feel like we all see him play, the more we all realize exactly how much we missed him when we didn’t have him. He’s coming into his own lately, where he’s making his shots, he’s guarding. And we most definitely need him on the floor for a lot of those reasons.”"

The third-year pro from Tennessee State followed the Houston game performance up by thieving away seven swipes on Sunday. His 3.6 steals per game leads the NBA, and he tops the Sixers with an average of 4.4 points scored off turnovers per game. It’s that type of play, that defense coupled with offense, that Brett Brown adores. Perhaps too much, as he sees Nik Stauskas in the same light, despite the potential never truly being realized yet this season.

"“I think he can grow to be a two-way player,” Brown told Seltzer when mentioning Stauskas. “He’s young. And his body is young, and I feel like his better days are well and truly ahead of him. I think that when he focuses on defense, the rest of his game is easier. I’ve been pleased with his desire to be coached. He’s a great teammate. I think he’s got a lot of upside to him.”"

To reinforce that opinion, Stauskas has so far held opposing players to a sub-40.0 field goal percentage. In fact, Stauskas own career track is uncannily similar to that of Covington in some ways. After one season, neither was deemed to be valuable enough to retain for the second year. Covington was released outright, Stauskas was tossed into a trade package at the request of the Sixer’s general manager Sam Hinkie without protest.