The Sixer Sense
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Is Brett Brown The Guy To Lead The Philadelphia 76ers Forward?

By Owen Nelson

Mar 6, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown during the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Wells Fargo Center. The Milwaukee Bucks won 112-98. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown during the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Wells Fargo Center. The Milwaukee Bucks won 112-98. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Brett Brown has been head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers throughout the whole process, is the the right man to lead the 76ers into the future?

Brett Brown has, surprisingly, lasted this long with the Philadelphia 76ers. I, for one, thought he would’ve been let go after the disastrous 10-72 season. The Australian has shown his ability to groom and improve young players, but he has no experience in the playoffs as a head coach.

Despite this, Brown is an graduate from Greg Popovich’s coaching team. We’ve seen fellow graduate Mike Budenholzer succeed tremendously with the Atlanta Hawks, perhaps when the Philadelphia 76ers are ready Brown could provide the same success. After all, he did learn from one of, if not the best coaches in NBA history.

Career

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Prior to joining the 76ers in August 2013, Brett Brown coached the North Melbourne Giants in Australia. He then worked alongside Greg Popovich at the San Antonio Spurs. Brown was first offered an unpaid role with the Spurs for the 1998-99 season, he then worked his way up through the ranks.

So far with the 76ers, Coach Brown hasn’t been given a chance to truly show his skills as a head coach. Unlike fellow Spurs coaching graduate Mike Budenholzer, Brown inherited a team in a total rebuilding mode. Despite this, Brown has shown his ability to groom young players and make NBA outsiders proven NBA role players.

There are many examples of the growth in players. Beginning with Robert Covington, he went from being known as just a 3-point shooter, who went undrafted, to becoming one of the most underrated two-way players in the league.

Richaun Holmes is another example of Brown’s coaching expertise. The former Bowling Green man was drafted in the second round and didn’t get much of a look in until the end of last season. Since Nerlens Noel was traded at the trade deadline, Holmes has stepped up big time, averaging 13.6 points per game and 6.9 rebounds.

In addition, undrafted T.J. McConnell has managed to hold down the starting point guard slot since January. McConnell has shown his playmaking, pass first style, but also his willingness to take big time shots at the end of games. McConnell has had a similar impact to former 76ers point guard, Ish Smith.

Furthermore, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot has been given extended time towards the end of the season. It is an understatement to say that he has taken full advantage of this. TLC has averaged 18.3 points a game throughout April which is a massive increase compared to his season average of 6.4 points per game.

Must Read: When is it Time to Consider Cutting Okafor?

Colangelo’s Take

Following on from this, if Bryan Colangelo isn’t comfortable with an inexperienced coach going into the playoffs then he may look towards an experienced one. Despite this, Colangelo hired Dwayne Casey after only being head coach of one NBA team (Minnesota Timberwolves). Similarly, Casey also coached overseas before coaching in the NBA. And now Casey is one of the best coaches in the league after he was given talent to work with.

Conclusion

I believe Brett Brown deserves to see out “The Process.” He should be the head coach until it’s clearly evident that he’s coaching in a position out of his league. If Brown does get fired at some point in the future, I think he should most definitely be kept on as an assistant coach or maybe even a talent evaluator.

Next: Brett Brown Requested to be Interviewed Last for Head Coaching Position

In my opinion, I don’t think Brett Brown is the guy to lead the Philadelphia 76ers into the future until he is out of his depth. We will have to wait to see when that is.