Brown: Sixers need a ‘highlevel free agent’ to be champs
Brown says Sixers are in position to make an offer that a star free agent can’t refuse
CAMDEN, N.J. » When the 76ers’ season ended in a second-round postseason loss to the Boston Celtics, Brett Brown had one season left on his contract.
That is about to change, according to general manager Bryan Colangelo, who soon will commit to Brown beyond his contracted 2018-2019 season.
“I have spoken with Brett on a number of occasions this year to let him know it is my intention to sit down with him and discuss a contract extension,” Colangelo said Friday. “I don’t think it’s the healthiest of situations for a coach to go into a season with one year remaining on his contract. It impacts so many aspects of what you are doing.”
Brown coached the Sixers to a 5230 record this season, his first winning season in his five years. He was, however, a legendary victim of a rebuilding process that required losing. For that, in 2015, he was given a two-year extension to his original deal. That extension will expire after next season.
“I don’t feel I am owed anything,” Brown said. “I really don’t. I feel like I deserve a lot. But I don’t feel I am owed anything.”
Despite that, Brown took an opportunity at an end-of-the-season press conference to tout achievements that go beyond his 127-283 career regularseason record.
“I think about what we have built here, and the culture that we have established and the playing style,” he said. “When I got here, I addressed the owners and the city of Philadelphia and said this about our offense: ‘Pace, space and pass.’ Then I said. ‘But the program has to reflect the city, so we have to play defense.’ So you go to pace, and we have been amongst the top five teams in every one of my seasons here. If you go to pass, we led the NBA in passing this year and were second in assists. If you go to space, you know we want shoot threes. Then you see that we were third in the Eastern Conference when most of us would be doing cartwheels just to make the playoffs.”
The Sixers made the playoffs and won a round.
“He deserves the opportunity to prove that he can coach better talent,” Colangelo said. “And he should have the opportunity to finish this job.”
*** As expected, Colangelo said the Sixers will exercise their option on T.J. McConnell’s contract for next season. Their cost for the backup point guard, who became a starter with Ben Simmons in the backcourt during the playoffs, will be $1.6 million.
Undrafted out of Arizona, McConnell, 25, averaged 6.3 points in the regular season, his third in the NBA.
“Anything less than what we did this year would be a disappointment for next year,” McConnell said. “We have to have a big summer, all of us. We have to get in the gym and just get ready to go for it next year.”
*** Among the Sixers’ end-of-season instructions to Ben Simmons was to improve his shooting. As part of that plan, Brown said the Sixers are planning to add an additional instructor to their staff to assist shooting coach John Townsend.
*** The NBA admitted that the officials missed two critical calls late in the Sixers’ 114-112 Game 5 loss in Boston.
The league’s report on the final two minutes said that Aron Baynes should have been called for hacking Joel Embiid with 11.6 seconds left in a 111-109 game. Also, the league determined that Marcus Smart traveled after intercepting a long inbound pass from Simmons with 2.4 seconds left. If that call had been made, the Sixers would have had more than a second to attempt another shot.
“I respect the NBA for admitting it,” Brown said. “They owned it. They don’t necessarily always have to do that stuff, but it is part of the league’s protocol. You’d sure love to have it back, either two free throws and Joel shoots, or Marcus travels and we have one-point-whatever seconds and we are prepared to get a shot up.
“But that is the fragility of a lot of things. It’s part of it. It’s all part of it.”