5:22pm: People close to Brown are urging him not to take the Sixers job, considering how inept the team team figures to be this season, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Turning down the gig would be a risk, but as Stein points out, coaches from the Gregg Popovich tree are in vogue around the league (Twitter links). If Philly doesn't come up with enough money to woo Brown, Curry is their fallback option, Stein adds, via Twitter, indicating that Curry could be something of a lame duck if he winds up with the job.
2:45pm: The 76ers have offered their head coaching job to Spurs assistant Brett Brown, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Nothing is official yet, but the two sides are discussing a contract, according to Wojnarowski.
Brown was one of about 10 different candidates linked to the Sixers' coaching opening since the team parted ways with Doug Collins in April. As Alex Lee of Hoops Rumors indicated last night in his primer on the team's coaching search, Brown has long been considered one of the frontrunners for the position, with a rumor surfacing back on draft night that he was Philadelphia's choice.
If Brown accepts the job, he'll be taking over a Sixers team that looks headed for a top-five pick in 2014, and still needs to add more salary to reach the minimum payroll threshold. Sixers assistant Michael Curry, Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, and Trail Blazers assistant David Vanterpool were among the other candidates believed to still be in the running for the vacancy.
Do you solemnly swear to tank, the whole tank, and nothing but the tank in 2013-14? Okay you’re hired!
Brett Brown deserves a decent crack at being a NBA coach. He has coached in our local competition in Australia and the national team as well and should stay with the Spurs. Keep learning from Pop and don’t take that rubbish position with Philly.