The Philadelphia 76ers are officially separating from manager Brett Brown, confirms a source Sports Illustrated. It has been seven long seasons for Brown, who came to Philly in 2013 to take on his first job as head coach since spending time as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs.
Brown found himself in a difficult situation when he joined the Sixers organization. At the time, team general manager Sam Hinkie had a master plan to transform a few seasons of tank matches and swap low-cost, upside prospects for choices in order to build a brighter future for Philly.
As the “The Process” plan was clear to the public, it looked like Brown’s time in Philadelphia would be cut short as soon as the 76ers started to turn things around and start competing for the playoffs.
But it was not so. The Sixers stayed with Brown throughout the 2017-2018 NBA season when Philly clinched a playoff spot for the first time since the 2012-2013 run. Although Brown and company failed to make it through the second round, the Sixers front office kept him around for the following season.
Once again, Brown’s Sixers were eliminated in the second round. Last season, Brown’s future as a Philly manager was already in question, but they stayed with him for the 2019-2020 season. Unfortunately for Brown, now is the time to move on.
Given that the Sixers had sky-high expectations for the 2019-2020 run, everything would soon become a significant disappointment as they only won the sixth seed and were blown away in the first round. Now, for the first time in seven years, the Philadelphia 76ers are entering the market for a brand new manager.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
