Harris gives his coach an A, gives his GM a blank check
CAMDEN, N.J. >> Josh Harris once saw the 76ers win 19 games, lose
63 and look foolish on five out of every six possessions.
“Huge success,” is what he called it.
Josh Harris just watched the Sixers win 51 times in the regular-season, another seven times in the playoffs, and lose on a four-bounce game-winner at the horn in the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinals.
“Incredibly disappointed,” he said Tuesday, “with how the season ended.”
It’s not easy to go from hugely successful 19-win seasons to remarkable years that are considered disappointing. In an odd way, the owner’s annual minireactions are useful measuring tools for a program at a critical turning point.
After approving new general manager Elton Brand to disrupt his roster twice during the season and asking his coach to play for-keeps rotisserie basketball in a hurry, Harris understood two things: That the Sixers had a chance to be great this year, but that they may need time for that greatness to truly surface.
For that Tuesday, Harris formally re-committed to Brett Brown as his coach for 20192020, promised to provide Brand with every opportunity to grow the roster, even if it requires the payment of a luxury tax, and declared his franchise to be making sufficient progress toward a world-championship goal.
“We’re disappointed we didn’t do more,” Harris said, two days after a rough loss in Toronto. “But our north star is to bring a championship here. We have a big summer ahead. And we will commit to the resources to make it happen.”
His first commitment was to Brown, and given some of his recent messages, spoken and otherwise, it tilted toward unexpected. It was Harris who had declared that anything short of a lengthy postseason run this season would be “problematic,” that before publicly declining to commit to Brown past the first playoff round.
By Tuesday, and after a dinner with Brown and others in New York Monday, Harris made it sound like there was never a question about his coach’s job security.
“A lot was made in the press,” Harris said. “But Brett’s job was never in jeopardy. We were very focused on the playoffs. And there were questions that people asked us. But I have a great relationship with Brett. He’s been our coach for six years. I have talked with him constantly throughout the playoffs about planning for the future.
“We are excited that Brett leading us.”
Since Brown is signed through
2022, it technically wasn’t breaking news that he will coach in
2019-2020. The mystery, if there is any, is which players he will coach. With starters Jimmy Butler, is Tobias Harris and J.J. Redick all in a position to try free agency, the Sixers are in slight danger of another season of personnel upheaval.
But Harris and Brand indicated a desire to keep the roster intact. With that, Brown would have a full training camp to work with a virtual All-Star team that was thrown together in different chunks through last season.
“I can’t discuss actual contracts and bringing them back,” said Brand, mindful of bargaining-agreement fine print. “But they were great. It’s tough to have four superstars and have to integrate them all. But Brett did a good job on the court and in the locker room, too.
“It is a fair question. That was our goal when we brought in the All-Star talent. And Josh and (ownership partner) David (Blitzer) are committed to giving us the resources to win a championship.”
Sixers ownership, finally over its commitment only to win by losing, has shown the determination to grow. Less certain is whether Ben Simmons will blossom into a reasonable NBA shooter, Joel Embiid will be able to strengthen his body to withstand a full NBA season or Butler, Harris and Redick will agree to re-sign.
All the Sixers were prepared to claim Tuesday was that they are in the position to achieve all of their goals.
“The grossly abused word ‘culture’ has been achieved here,” Brown said. “None of us can deny this. This is a destination for players. People are treated well here. And for us to have a chance to grow is incredibly exciting. How many programs in the NBA can say they have a chance at annual success? We have a 22-year-old All-Star (Simmons), a 25-year-old All-Star (Embiid) and people who want to be here. We have Elton ready to do the job. So to me, what are we missing?
“We have everything we need to move this program forward. I am proud of the fights we had to fight to do what we’ve done. But culture means something to us and I feel we have delivered.”
For that, Harris will stick with Brown as his coach, despite some growing fan impatience.
“Brett is a great leader,” the owner said. “He has a great relationship with the players. He communicates well with the city. I think he has made a lot of progress and a lot of great adjustments. Generally speaking, he gets an A. There are always things we talk about, and one of those things is improvement. It’s not appropriate to share all those ins and outs. But we are very excited about where he is taking us.”
Brown has taken the Sixers from a controversial rebuilding scheme to within an unfortunate shot of the Final Four. Huge success?
“I am proud of where we were and proud of where we are,” Brown said. “I understand the lay of the land in the NBA. I sleep fine.”