Most NBA fans would say that LeBron James didn't seriously consider the Philadelphia 76ers during his last real free agency run. The Sixers famously received a meeting with LeBron's reps and were told, "Thanks, but no thanks."
At the time, Brett Brown was the head coach of the team and briefly had control of the front office. The 76ers were a young team on the rise, headlined by Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Brett Brown was the guy who steered the "Process" ship but the organization was doing the proper thing by allowing Brown to coach when the tank was parked away for good.
A pair of second-round exits and a first-round sweep was it for Brown's head coaching career in Philadelphia. It wasn't always easy or pretty for Brown. Landing a prime LeBron might've taken the Sixers in a different direction, but James took his talents to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won an NBA Championship the same year Brown was let go.
At last, the 76ers landed James with Nick Nurse coaching the squad and Mike Gansey running the front office. There aren't any sour feelings from Brown, who could be understandably jealous about the situation. Just happiness for Philadelphia and its former MVP, Joel Embiid.
Brett Brown still has love for the city
Speaking with SB Nation's Liberty Ballers, Brown opened up about his feelings about the 76ers winning the LeBron James sweepstakes this summer.
“I think it’s fantastic for the city. I think it’s an endorsement to the players and Nick (Nurse) that LeBron chose them. There’s a lot of great things to be admitted with LeBron’s decision to come to Philadelphia, and Jaylen (Brown)’s trade. It’s real. They’ve got a team that is as good as anybody in the league," Brown said.
Brown didn't take the typical path of getting let go and quickly jumping back into another job. He quietly quit his role with Australia's National Team and took two years off before returning to the San Antonio Spurs as an assistant coach, where San Antonio quickly became one of the Western Conference's contenders.
The former Sixers coach doesn't have to care about the team. Clearly, there is still some love and support for the Sixers deep down from Brown. He knew as well as anybody that Joel Embiid wanted the team to land LeBron James when they thought it was possible back in 2018. Now that it's real, Embiid's championship window is open and the 76ers have to find every way to take advantage of who they've become this upcoming season.
And maybe everything will come full circle, and the Sixers and the Spurs could meet in the NBA Finals to have a Process-loaded championship, as Embiid and Brown are some of the few still left standing from that era.
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