Brett Brown’s future with the Philadelphia 76ers is — wrongfully — in question.
The Philadelphia 76ers will battle the Toronto Raptors on Sunday for the right to face Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Finals. Brett Brown’s squad has already overachieved, bucking underdog status and outplaying the Raptors on multiple occasions. To ownership and the front office, though, that might not matter.
In a recent New York Times column, Marc Stein said the following about Brett Brown’s future should the Sixers lose Game 7.
"“The Sixers, meanwhile, will be swamped with what-next questions if they don’t advance.Beyond the uncertain fates of Butler, Harris and the sharpshooting J.J. Redick, rumblings in league coaching circles have grown louder by the day that 76ers Coach Brett Brown needs an N.B.A. finals berth to keep his job. Brown, I’m told, has little chance of surviving a second-round exit.” — Marc Stein, New York Times"
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While PhillyVoice’s Kyle Neubeck spoke to sources who said the Sixers’ focus is on preparing for Game 7, there’s reason to believe Stein — among the most credible NBA reporters out there — is legitimate in his sourcing. Brett Brown’s job might hinge on a pipe-dream Finals berth.
If that’s the case, it would be disappointing on many levels. It would represent a potentially crippling shortsightedness, both in the front office and the ownership group. The Sixers would accumulate the basis for a contender, only to squander it with unrealistic expectations.
Josh Harris and Sixers ownership have been adamant about their desire to improve over last season’s second-round exit, which is understandable. The Sixers added two borderline All-Stars in Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. It’s only reasonable to aim higher.
In proper context, however, the Sixers have already improved on last season’s result. The 2018 Celtics were missing Kyrie Irving and didn’t pose a remotely similar threat to Kawhi Leonard and the 2019 Raptors. This Toronto team would have smoked last season’s Philadelphia team.
The Raptors finished the regular season with the second-best record in the NBA, trailing only Milwaukee. Most pundits expected the Sixers to lose in 5-6 games, with few going as far as to pick Philadelphia. Toronto was and has been favorites all series.
Brown should get tremendous credit for getting the Sixers to a Game 7 with a legitimate chance to win. He has out-coached Nick Nurse on more than one occasion, making excellent adjustments after Game 1’s loss and maximizing the Sixers’ talented-but-shallow rotation.
Unlike the regular season, Brown has unlocked Jimmy Butler’s pick-and-roll game, using Joel Embiid as a screener and allowing Butler to run the halfcourt offense with regularity. Tobias Harris has also gotten similar possessions, with Brown leaning into the Sixers’ newfound creation chops.
Even with just two playable bench pieces and an assortment of mismatched centers, Brown has managed to match the Kawhi Leonard-led Raptors stride for stride. If Embiid was at full health, the series might already be over.
All this, of course, is coming after Brown’s thorough domination of Kenny Atkinson — a promising young head coach — in round one. Brown has utilized the Sixers’ new weapons and showing serious growth compared to last season, when Philadelphia’s limited skill sets were a massive hindrance.
Brown has done nothing but impress and deserves his spot on the bench next season. It’s also worth noting the historic roster turnover the Sixers have dealt with all season. Butler, Harris, Mike Scott, Boban Marjanovic, James Ennis, Greg Monroe, Jonathon Simmons. None of those players were on the roster when the season started.
Elton Brand made a concerted and valiant effort to add star power, but that normally comes with an adjustment period. The Sixers cycled through three different iterations during the regular season and rostered more players than any other franchise. And Philadelphia still won 51 games.
Brown has dealt with atypical levels of change, maintained an elite locker room and put the Sixers in a position to compete for an NBA Finals berth. The Raptors could win Game 7, but the Sixers have a chance. And the fluky nature of one game shouldn’t determine Brown’s coaching future when there’s a larger body of work suggesting his brilliance.
The Sixers need to keep Brett Brown. Whether the season ends Sunday night or not, it would be an objectively questionable and subjectively awful move to fire Brown after consecutive 50-win seasons and tangible improvement.