Brett Brown Right Coach For Job
All the while, NBA teams said Hinkie’s approach could never work. And Sam Hinkie needed a coach to prove 29 other NBA teams wrong. Brett Brown was such a head coach. Fundamentally elite in the skills needed in the NBA, eternally optimistic, patient, and never flustered. He was the key to everything Sam Hinkie needed in a head coach. Particularly the “never flustered” aspect.
Well almost never. He had moments when he questioned the logic of trading some players he had developed.
"“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"
But he always pressed forward. He spoke his mind and let it go. But it was too much upon the shoulders of one man, so much so that we began to ask how much more could Brown endure.
And then 2017 happened. Since then, this team has been 20-23. And that is no accident. This is still a team of undrafted and second round players. And of course, two red-shirted rookies debuted as well. But this team doesn’t turn the corner without Brett Brown.