In our final evaluation of the 2014-15 Sixers, we look at head coach Brett Brown.
Status: Halfway through a four-year contract
Brett Brown in 2014-15
The Sixers won 19 games a year ago. They won 18 this season. In so many ways, this was a much more difficult campaign for Brown — primarily because he was charged with coaching an ever-changing roster. Each time a player was traded or cut, Brown’s emotions bled out a bit.
"When you start losing people that you are very fond of and have tremendous respect for,” Brown said, “there is a human side of it that bothers me because you are trying to grow chemistry, you are trying to grow a culture."
That wasn’t even about Michael Carter-Williams. Brown said that back in December after the Sixers traded Brandon Davies. That’s Brown. He was upset when the Sixers traded Alexey Shved. Even Shved’s family didn’t take it that hard. And when the Sixers unloaded MCW and K.J. McDaniels at the deadline, Brown said he felt “very naked.”
"I am going to miss those guys," Brown said at the time about Carter-Williams and McDaniels. "I appreciate the work they put in. They gave A-plus efforts, and they were great teammates. They showed tremendous improvement.”
The MCW trade, in particular, appeared to weigh on him. Brown allowed that he had “a personal attachment and fondness” for Carter-Williams.
NBA
Despite the unending roster churn and the obvious toll it took on Brown, the Sixers showed improvement in certain areas. The Sixers moved the ball well all season (though they didn’t score well) and were eighth in assist percentage. They also improved on defense. The were 13th in defensive rating — a significant jump from the season before when they couldn’t stop anyone. Brown also presided over Nerlens Noel’s development.
The Sixers still have quite a bit to work on. They remain one of the worst offensive teams in the league, but that has everything to do with the talent Brown was given. The Sixers play fast and try to get to into the paint or shoot threes. It’s a sound system that should look better once the roster features players who are capable of putting the ball in the basket. Considering what Brown had to work with — especially the rotating cast at point guard — and how often he had to introduce himself to a new face, he did a fine job.
Prospectus
The Sixers initially offered Brown a three-year deal. He told Sam Hinkie he wouldn’t leave San Antonio for anything less than four years. The Sixers gave it to him. Brown understood that the rebuild would be a protracted process and the Sixers won’t be ready to win, let alone contend for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, for a while. He was right about all of it.
Four years is better than three, certainly. But it’s still not enough. Brown will need more time. When his contract expires in two seasons, the Sixers will still most likely feature a roster of inexperienced young players in their early-to-mid-20s. If he wants to see this thing through, if he hopes to win with the Sixers instead of merely help them dig out of the rebuilding hole, Brown will have to wait and stick around for a while.
On Brett Brown …
"I remember sitting in a draft room last year and realizing that we are going to take Dario Saric and Joel Embiid, and they are not even going to play this year after we came out with 19 wins.
"You take a deep breath and you say that is what is best for the city. That is what is best for the Philadelphia 76ers, so that is what we should do.
"I think as a coaching staff and a front office, if we truly believe that and we deliver through our actions, then good things will come for the program in the long run. That is my philosophy and something I intend on sticking with."
— Brown