Brett Brown’s Hot Seat Summer
As the summer comes to an end, the NBA season is just around the corner and I feel like I say this every year, but the Sixers might actually have a chance to win it all. Giannis and the Bucks are the only team in the east standing in their way. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities that the Sixers can go the distance. That’s if Brett Brown can finally bust the lock off of the second round.
This Season is going to make or break Brown’s Career, quite literally, the possibility of Brett ending this season with an NBA championship feels just as likely as him ending this season without a job.
Last year’s playoffs were met with a strange rumor that Josh Harris was thinking about firing Brett Brown. The whole situation felt like his job was tied directly to the teams success in the playoffs. Outperforming themselves from the prior season seemed to silence the rumors calling for Brett’s head. Harris Made this statement after the Heartbreaking game seven against the Raptors, “Brett’s job was never in jeopardy. I have a great relationship with Brett. I talked with him constantly throughout the playoffs and we continue to be excited that Brett is leading us.” Some would say that Brett being on the hot seat was stirred up by talk radio hosts, twitter trolls, and your boomer uncle trying to make conversation at family gatherings. Harris also told the media “Lots been made about this in the press and truthfully you can’t believe what you’re hearing and what you’re reading,”. To me that reads as Harris covering his own ass, firing Brett would have been the easiest way to silence the fans if the team underperformed in the playoffs, but that course of action would have resulted in a struggling sixers team to start this season without a doubt.
Brett has no more excuses, this will be his third season coaching Joel and Ben, He’s had enough time with them to know their games, whether that means playing them together or separate, the acquisition of Horford feels like an attempt to 1)Sit Embiid throughout the season and 2) give Simmons a center that fits better with his play style, a big that can space the floor. This is a clear attempt at maximizing his star players abilities by solving two large problems the team faces in last season’s playoffs. A healthy Embiid and Simmons that isn’t lost in the halfcourt, eradicating a duality of endothermic feathered vertebrates utilizing a singular particle of naturally-occurring crystalline composite, he’s killing two birds with one stone.
The roster is most likely staying the same through the season give or take a minor trade or free agent signing. We are no longer looking for blockbuster trades and we are no longer “star hunting”. Last season the team went through three different rosters and twenty-six different players. By a miracle last year, the team ended up over .500 and the third seat in the east. This season’s roster is maximized for thicckness (No Kink Shame), defensive domination, and the rookies are all healthy for the first time in forever.
This season will still have some wrinkles to iron out, like losing a fourth quarter closer in Butler, balancing Embiid and Horford’s minutes without bruising egos, finding ways for Simmons to contribute in crunch time, and replacing Redick’s offensive contributions just to name a few. I have always had complete faith in Brett as head coach he has been one of the most patient and supportive coach the NBA has ever seen, how many coaches can say they sat through three tanking seasons, and then have to manage one of the most volatile personalities in the league Jimmy Butler, all while keeping your team over .500 and making two playoff runs, not many.
Brett is just as much the process as Embiid maybe more (that’s an article for another time) but if he can’t surpass his previous performances, the Sixers should probably start looking for a new coach, and this is coming from someone who has fought back the #FIREBRETTBROWN horde for years, don’t get me wrong I want Brett to stay here for the remainder of his career, but if we’re choosing between a finals chance and Brett Brown I know my answer, because after 2023 the horses turn back into mice and the chariot that’s championship bound turns back into a pumpkin.
