The Sixer Sense
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What Happens If Philadelphia 76ers Fail This Season?

By Bret Stuter

Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown (L) and Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan (R) prior to action at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown (L) and Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan (R) prior to action at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown (L) and Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan (R) prior to action at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown (L) and Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan (R) prior to action at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Head Coach Brett Brown Fired

From the moment the team replaced Sam Hinkie with Bryan Colangelo, the timer on head coach Brett Brown’s tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers was set. Hesitant to make a move so quickly to change the only coach many of the young 76ers players knew in the NBA, the Colangelos played the wisest card available to them by extending Brown.

Did he deserve it?  Even if simply a reward of longevity, the consensus has been yes.

But the tone of the fanbase, long patient and complacent under Sam Hinkie and the #TrustTheProcess period, has begun to turn on the team, and particularly coach Brown, in recent weeks.  The discontent is becoming loud enough to reach the ears of Sixers sports writers like Max Rappaport, who addressed the issue on twitter recently:

Keep this in the context of the season so far: three key players of Jerryd Bayless, Ben Simmons, and Nerlens Noel have yet to step onto the basketball court.  Of the remaining 12 players, Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid, and Gerald Henderson have been playing with minutes restrictions.

In short, head coach Brett Brown has 60% of the roster to fully coach.  Of that number, Dario Saric has been inconsistent, Robert Covington has been in an abysmal shooting slump, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot has barely taken the court.

None of these factors matter if the team fails to win games. The bottom line is that Bryan Colangelo will fire Brown without hesitation should the team fail to win many more games this year.