4:41pm: Brown confirmed to reporters that the sides are heavily in engaged in talks, notes Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link).
“I am in deep conversations about my contract,” Brown said. “This is where I want to be.”
4:00pm: The Sixers are “very likely” to sign coach Brett Brown to an extension, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The team is deep in talks about a deal with Brown, owner Josh Harris said today amid the press conference in which Philadelphia announced the hiring of Jerry Colangelo to a front office position, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports (on Twitter). The coach’s contract is set to end after next season.
The subject of an extension has been a topic of speculation for months, even as Brown has insisted that he doesn’t feel comfortable talking about his contract, other than to say that he intends to see it through. Harris and GM Sam Hinkie didn’t address the subject of an extension at the team’s media day at the start of training camp, but they nonetheless made it clear they like the coach.
Brown reportedly had some doubt about his job security early last season, but Hinkie lent his support, and his willingness to keep plugging away with an understocked, ever-changing roster has won Brown the respect of the team’s brass. The coach has occasionally admitted he wished the team had more veterans and that the burden of the team’s losing wears on him from time to time, but he’s nonetheless countered that with near-relentless enthusiasm as the Sixers continue to lose. Philadelphia is 1-20 this season and 38-147 overall under Brown, who spent several years as a Spurs assistant before joining the Sixers for the 2013/14 season.