Brett Brown Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers Notes: Smith, Noel, Wroten

December 27th, 2015 at 10:25am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers acquired Ish Smith earlier in the week and the team plans on making him the starting point guard for the immediate future, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Smith started Saturday’s contest against the Suns, putting up 14 points and five assists in a rare win for Philadelphia.

Here’s more from the City of Brotherly Love:

Coach Brett Brown believes adding Smith is about more than basketball on the court, Derek Bodner of the Philadelphia magazine passes along (Twitter link). “What people here don’t know is the companionship and the mateship, and the trust that he has with Nerlens [Noel],” Brown said.
The Sixers are hoping that adding Smith will be a spark for Noel, Pompey writes in a separate piece. Noel is averaging 10.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while sporting a player efficiency rating of 12.0 this season.
Brown had some kind words for Tony Wroten, who was released on Wednesday, Pompey passes along via Twitter links. “It was disappointing to part ways with Tony,” Brown said. “He had been around me all my days there…It is part of sport. I hope he looks back knowing coaches gave everything we could and for the most part I think he did too. We wish him well.”

Sixers Notes: D’Antoni, Porzingis, Saric

December 19th, 2015 at 2:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers coach Brett Brown is excited about the team’s addition of Mike D’Antoni as associate head coach, saying of D’Antoni, “He’s a hell of a resource and a hell of a coach. I think we’re all going to benefit,” Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays. Brown noted that he had wanted to add an experienced coach to his staff for some time, and the suggestion about hiring D’Antoni came from newly hired team executive Jerry Colangelo, Begley writes. “We started sharing names, and he mentioned the name Mike D’Antoni. I said, ‘Do you think he would do it? That’s a hell of a name,‘” Brown said. “Less than 24 hours later, he came and said, ‘Mike is yours.’ And so the speed of it caught me way off guard.”

Brown also mentioned that the team spent several days recruiting D’Antoni, and the former head coach was asked why he would want to join a rebuilding team like Philadelphia, to which D’Antoni responded, “I’m bored, I miss the game,” Begley adds.

Here’s more from Philly:

Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis has observed the early season difficulties Sixers center Jahlil Okafor has endured and feels fortunate that Philadelphia chose the Duke big man, allowing New York to swoop in and select him at No. 4 overall, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. “That would be tough,’’ Porzingis said of playing for a losing squad like the Sixers. “That’s basketball sometimes. Losing like that is very tough. I’ve been on a losing team last season, the first part of the season. It’s really tough. The negativity is always there. It’s not a good feeling. You mentally grow as you go through those tough times.’’
Porzingis appreciates the fact that the Knicks surrounded him with veteran leaders, a perk that Okafor doesn’t currently possess in Philadelphia, Berman adds. “I’m in a really good situation,’’ Porzingis said. “Having veterans around me to help me out on and off the court. He’s in a tough situation. I’m sure he’ll find a way to make his team win and get better as a player and how to be smarter off the court.’’ The Sixers are working toward correcting this deficiency, and are reportedly considering signing Elton Brand or Shane Battier.
Draft-and-stash prospect Dario Saric, in an interview with SlamNRoll.com, re-iterated his intention to join the Sixers next season. “I’m always in touch with the people of Philadelphia, I always talk with GM Sam Hinkie and coach Brett Brown,” Saric said. “We talk about a lot of things that have to do with me and the 76ers. Before I was drafted, I promised to Efes that I will come here for two years and of course I promised to Philadelphia that after [this] period of time, I will go to them. It is a certain procedure that I feel I have to pass through.“

Atlantic Notes: D’Antoni, Thomas, Knicks

December 13th, 2015 at 4:00pm CST by Will Joseph

Sixers head coach Brett Brown said the franchise reaching out to Mike D’Antoni is unrelated to last week’s hiring of Jerry Colangelo as chairman of basketball operations, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. What’s more, Brown said the team has been thinking about adding a veteran coach “for a while,” Pompey relays. Of course, and as Pompey points out, Colangelo and D’Antoni have a history together. Colangelo is the former Suns owner and D’Antoni went 253-156 in five seasons as the Suns coach. The Sixers confirmed reports that they are talking to D’Antoni about joining the team as an associate head coach, Pompey notes.

“This is a good thing,” Brown said in regards to D’Antoni, per Pompey. “That name is a good thing. How could that not be a good thing?”

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics have been a different team since the arrival of Isaiah Thomas in last February’s trade deadline and the point guard is emerging as a possible all-star this season, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes. Boston owns a .627 winning percentage in his Thomas’ first 51 games in Boston, according to Forsberg. After making only one start last season with the Celtics, Thomas has started 21 times this year and is averaging 20.8 points per game.
In order to turn their season around, the Knicks need more out of Carmelo Anthony despite the star coming off surgery, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News opines. Bondy compares Anthony to Rajon Rondo of the Kings because they are both polarizing figures, and writes that Anthony needs to have the kind of season that Rondo is experiencing before Kristaps Porzingis becomes the clear face of the franchise.
Kendall Marshall, who played in his first game of the season Friday night, should provide the Sixers stability at the point guard position with his ability to take care of the ball and 3-point shooting, Derek Bodner of Phillymag.com details.

Sixers, Brett Brown Agree To Extension

December 11th, 2015 at 4:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

Noah K. Murray/USA Today Sports Images

4:12pm: The Sixers sent out a press release officially announcing the extension. “Brett has been everything we anticipated – and more – both as a basketball coach and a partner in building this program,” GM Sam Hinkie said. “His tireless work ethic, his daily desire to consistently improve, and his resiliency line up with our core values as an organization. It was not difficult to come to the decision to formally say we want to work with Brett Brown even longer.”

3:02pm: The Sixers and coach Brett Brown have reached an agreement on a two-year extension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Brown’s existing pact was to expire after next season, but the extension will allow the contract to carry through the 2018/19 season, according to Wojnarowski. The Yahoo scribe reported earlier this week, in the immediate wake of the team’s hiring of Jerry Colangelo to the front office, that an extension was “very likely” for Brown, and both the coach and owner Josh Harris confirmed shortly thereafter that they were deep into negotiations about the matter. The Sixers began their push for a deal well before Colangelo joined the team, league sources told Wojnarowski. The Sixers have called a 4:00pm Central time press conference, and they’re expected to formally announce the deal then, Wojnarowski writes.

Brown, a first-time NBA head coach, has gone just 38-149 since taking the job before the 2013/14 season, but he’s had barren rosters to work with, the result of GM Sam Hinkie‘s drastic rebuilding plan. He’s admitted that the losing gets to him sometimes and has occasionally offered subtle criticism of the front office, such as when he said recently that he wished he had more veterans on the team. He’s otherwise shown a relentlessly positive demeanor and even tempered his remark about veterans by saying that he accepts the responsibility that normally falls to experienced players.

Speculation arose that Brown was more frustrated behind the scenes than he expressed publicly. Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote this week that Brown was furious amid recent off-court trouble for Jahlil Okafor, with Hayes suggesting the team’s handling of the matter might have driven the coach to his breaking point. Brown said in September that he intended to serve out the remainder of his contract and had no plans to quit.

The coach was worried about his job security early last season, but Hinkie dispelled those fears and the coach’s willingness to forge ahead despite trying circumstances won him respect in the Sixers organization, as TNT’s David Aldridge recently reported. Harris and Hinkie professed their admiration for Brown as training camp began this season.

Brown is the third coach to come to terms on an extension since the start of the season, joining Rick Carlisle of the Mavericks and Steve Clifford of the Hornets. Carlisle is the only one among the three who has a winning record for his team.

Does Brown deserve the extension? Leave a comment to tell us.

Atlantic Notes: Anthony, Brown, Joseph

December 10th, 2015 at 7:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers coach Brett Brown has already developed a solid relationship with new team executive Jerry Colangelo, who was officially hired on Monday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. When asked how often he communicates with Colangelo, Brown responded, “All the time. I think for me to be able to call upon somebody like him and say, what do you think of that, is a priceless sounding board for me. I love it. I respect his history. When answers come out you immediately respect the history of which that opinion was formed. It’s amazing.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony is frustrated by the team’s struggles this season and isn’t hiding his displeasure, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com notes. “Losing is frustrating,” Anthony said. “I don’t want this to be an ongoing situation or an ongoing feeling where we have to come into the locker room and explain why we’re losing basketball games.” Anthony is also upset with New York’s pace of play, and wants the team to increase its tempo, a team source tells Begley. “He [Anthony] felt like they were stuck in the half court too much,” the source told the ESPN scribe.
The Raptors are hoping to imitate the long-term success of the Spurs as an organization, which is one reason why Toronto signed Cory Joseph this past offseason, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. “You can’t go through a program like that, I don’t care what program you are with in college or the pros, if you’re from a successful program some of those habits come away with you,” said coach Dwane Casey of Joseph. “That’s why bringing a guy in like that from a winning program, that’s won a championship, knows what it takes to win. Those qualities have rubbed off on him.“
The Celtics have once again assigned power forward Jordan Mickey to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Mickey’s sixth trek to Maine this season, as our tracker shows.

More Reaction To Sixers Hiring Of Jerry Colangelo

December 8th, 2015 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Owners around the league pressured the NBA to put the brakes on Philadelphia’s aggressive rebuilding plan, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported and as we passed along Monday night, and that indeed played a role in the hiring of Jerry Colangelo, Windhorst writes. The owners were upset with the Sixers, a large market team with a storied history, as many of the games that featured Philadelphia as the visitor have been among the most lightly attended all season, sources told Windhorst. People who know Colangelo, who joined the Sixers to find a new challenge after his plans for a new Team USA practice facility fell through, believe he’ll have major influence on the Sixers going forward, despite owner Josh Harris’ remark that radical changes to the team’s process aren’t to be expected. Colangelo is notorious for negotiating favorable deals for himself, so he probably didn’t come cheaply, an executive said to Windhorst. See more on the aftermath of Philly’s decision to install Colangelo as a special adviser to the owner and chairman of basketball operations:

Coach Brett Brown was furious amid the spate of incidents involving Jahlil Okafor lately, and Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News suggests that the team’s handling of Okafor “might have been the last straw” for Brown if not for the Colangelo hiring. Brown and the Sixers say they are deep in talks on an extension.
Colangelo pointed to “a void of leadership, playerwise” as he spoke Monday to reporters, including Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post, a comment that would seem to lend credence to Brown’s remark that he thinks the team will give more regard to having veteran players around.
The Sixers shouldn’t give up on Hinkie’s strategy just yet, since the team is in position to have a viable roster as soon as next season, argues Chris Mannix of SI.com. Philadelphia is in line to feature as many as six additional first-round picks in the lineup in 2016/17, between the return of Joel Embiid, draft-and-stash prospect Dario Saric and the four 2016 first-rounders the team could end up with.
Colangelo is a coup for the Sixers, opines Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News, who believes the 76-year-old’s voice will carry more weight than Hinkie’s in the new Sixers hierarchy.

Sixers Likely To Sign Brett Brown To Extension

December 7th, 2015 at 4:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

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.

And-Ones: Brown, D-League, Simmons

December 5th, 2015 at 4:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The burden of the Sixers‘ long rebuilding process is weighing on coach Brett Brown, who believed the franchise would be further along than it currently is, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes. “I do feel the enormity of it from time to time,” Brown told Lowe. “I wouldn’t be telling you the truth if I said that I had thought in year three, this was the group I’d be coaching. I didn’t realize the roster would play out like it has — that last year would be almost a redshirt year, with Joel Embiid and Dario Saric.”

Philadelphia’s plan of bottoming out and rebuilding through the draft has rankled more than a few executives around the NBA, though no further discussions regarding reforming the draft lottery process are expected to take place until the next session of collective bargaining between the league and the NBPA occurs, which will not happen until 2016 or 2017, Lowe notes in the same piece.

Here’s what else is happening around the league:

The Pistons have assigned Spencer Dinwiddie and Darrun Hilliard to their D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids, the team announced. The moves were first reported by David Mayo of MLive.com (via Twitter).
LSU forward Ben Simmons tops the latest 2016 NBA draft rankings from Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. Simmons overtook Kentucky center Skal Labissiere, who is now third on Givony’s draft board, with Duke swingman Brandon Ingram now slotted second.
Former Warriors center Andris Biedrins, who last played in the NBA with Utah during the 2013/14 season, said he wasn’t sure if his playing career was officially over during an interview with Leta.lv (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). “I am staying in shape, nothing crazy, but I work out three-four times per week,” Biedrins said. “It’s tough to say if I have put basketball aside. At the moment I don’t have the wish to play. Maybe after half year or a year I will want to play, but not now.” Biedrins also noted he was a big fan of Knicks rookie, and fellow Latvian, Kristaps Porzingis. “Kristaps Porzingis? How you cannot follow him? I am very happy for Porzingis, he has been fantastic. I know how difficult it is. I hope he keeps up like that,” Biedrins added.
The Thunder have assigned point guard Cameron Payne to their D-League affiliate, the team announced via press release.

Sixers Notes: Okafor, Embiid, Noel

December 4th, 2015 at 7:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

Executives from other teams who’ve closely studied rebuilding strategies estimate that the Sixers would have to pursue what they’re doing for six or seven years before the odds of a successful turnaround would become highly favorable, reports Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Philadelphia’s lack of willingness to sign veterans has irked agents, as has the team’s lack of tact when waiving players, as Lowe details. The Sixers assured Jorge Gutierrez they’d keep him after the trade that brought him to the team last season, but they waived him one day later while he was on the team bus, sources tell Lowe. The ESPN scribe is nonetheless skeptical that agents will keep their clients from signing with the team when it starts to win, as at least one agent has reportedly promised. See more from Philly:

A slowed-down version of the video of a second altercation allegedly involving Jahlil Okafor on the night of November 25th shows that Okafor didn’t hit a man, an attorney for Okafor claimed Friday on WIP’s Mike & Ike Show, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The incident, one of several in which Okafor has reportedly been implicated of late, helped prompt the Sixers to issue a two-game suspension.
Coach Brett Brown was asked if the team would benefit by a stronger veteran presence on the team, and he responded, “It’s hard to argue why not,” Noah Coslov of SiruisXMNBA relays (Twitter link).
Joel Embiid has grown to 7’2″, Brown told reporters, including Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News (Twitter link). Embiid was measured at 7’0″ at the 2013 Nike Hoops Summit, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
The jury is still out on whether or not Okafor and Nerlens Noel can coexist on the court together, with one NBA executive noting simply that the duo won’t ever mesh, Cooney relays in a separate piece. “They can’t play together,” the executive told Cooney. “I just don’t see it. Watch them defensively. Their instincts are both to defend the paint, because that is exactly what they’ve been doing all their lives. But here’s the problem. When the Sixers miss a shot or commit a turnover, both Noel and Okafor run back on defense and instinctively run to the rim, which they have been taught all their lives. Problem is, there is a Dirk Nowitzki or LaMarcus Aldridge or Kevin Love spotting up, waiting to get a wide-open shot. I don’t know if they can figure that out. The advantage to it is that Brett [Brown] has been around this situation before when he was in San Antonio and they were figuring out how to best get along with Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Of course, those are two Hall of Fame players.“

Atlantic Notes: Larkin, Sullinger, Brown

November 24th, 2015 at 9:42am CST by Chuck Myron

Shane Larkin spoke of his displeasure with the triangle offense this summer after leaving the Knicks to sign with the Nets, and he feels the results so far this season, in which he’s scored more points in fewer minutes per game than he did last year, prove his point, as Brian Lewis of the New York Post chronicles.

“Yeah, it’s a much better fit for me in a lot of ways,” Larkin said. “You can see my numbers have been better. I’m just playing better overall, because I’m more comfortable in a pick-and-roll system or an up-and-down system, doing different things rather than coming down and setting in the triangle.’’

Still, Brooklyn’s reserves have been one of the NBA’s least effective bench units statistically, Lewis points out. Sunday’s win over the Celtics, which also saw a strong contribution from fellow former Knick Andrea Bargnani, was an exception, as Lewis details. See more from the Atlantic Division:

The best is yet to come for soon-to-be restricted free agent Jared Sullinger, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com in a Q&A. Ainge criticized the fitness level that offseason trade acquisition David Lee had at the start of camp but praised Lee’s work since then, and the exec cited his team’s depth for its strong defensive play thus far, as Forsberg relays. Ainge also referred to coach Brad Stevens as “a keeper.” “Jared has played really well,” Ainge said to Forsberg. “I know what he’s capable of doing. I think Jared is still so young. I think that his best basketball is still ahead of him. But I do see a lot of great progress from Jared.”
Sixers coach Brett Brown wishes he sometimes had more of a veteran presence on the team, but he accepts much of the responsibility that would usually fall to experienced players for himself, observes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Carl Landry is the only Sixer with more than three years of service. “It’s on me,” said Brown, a former Spurs assistant. “I’m privileged to have seen five NBA [Finals] and won four of them. … I like sharing stories like that with my players.”
The radical rebuilding plan the Sixers have undertaken comes with no guarantees and requires plenty of patience, but the team has largely controlled what it can as it’s stockpiled the assets necessary to pounce on a superstar when the opportunity arises, argues Derek Bodner of Philadelphia magazine. Still, it’s possible the team erred when it selected Jahlil Okafor instead of Kristaps Porzingis with the No. 3 overall pick, as Bodner examines.