NBA playoffs 2020: 76ers sack Brett Brown

Philadelphia has sacked coach Brett Brown — but that’s not the only change as Ben Simmons’ team reacts to a disastrous season.

Ben Simmons and Brett Brown will at least see each other when the Boomers play. Picture: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The axe hanging over Brett Brown’s head fell quickly after the 76ers were swept out of the NBA postseason.

Brown, who is also the coach of the Australian Boomers, was given his marching orders on Tuesday after a season which began with talk of a title ended with a first round playoff exit.

Current LA Clippers assistant and former Cavaliers head coach Ty Lue is the leading candidate to replace him.

Brown’s defenders will say he wasn’t responsible for handing huge contracts to underperforming forwards Tobias Harris and Al Horford, but his detractors will point to his inability to get the best out of young stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

Rightly or wrongly, it appears Philly’s owners are holding Brown responsible for Embiid never being in great shape — or Simmons developing a jumpshot.

“The job of an NBA coach you’ve got to take the team you have and try to maximise it and get the most out of it,” Brown said after exiting the playoffs. “And I did not do that.”

ESPN reports Elton Brand, the general manager who reshaped the team around Embiid and Simmons with underwhelming results — including a one-season dalliance with Jimmy Butler — will keep his job. But the rest of the front office will be restructured.

Embiid commented on the upheaval of the team in recent years after the 76ers were beaten 4-0 by the Celtics.

“I just feel like, a couple years ago, when we made the playoffs for the first time, we had a bunch of great players that were drafted here or either formed in Philly and we had a bunch of guys especially that were in a great situation,” Embiid said.

“And then we, as you know, we decided to trade a lot of it with the picks and stuff for Jimmy (Butler), Tobias (Harris), and we got a bunch of great players in return. Like I said, it just didn’t happen. We could never find a rhythm this year. It is disappointing. There’s a lot of regrets. I felt like the focus was not always there. And we got to do better; we just got to look at ourselves in the mirror and just do better.”

Simmons, who missed the playoffs after injuring his knee, tweeted overnight: “Watching my team get swept hurt, and I don’t ever want to feel that way again.”

Brett Brown is gone. (Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images)

Brown, who took over in 2013 as the 76ers began a series of losing seasons as part of a tanking strategy that led to several high draft picks, released a classy statement after his dismissal.

“In 2013, I was employed to lead one of the most dramatic builds in professional sports history,” he said.

“In the past seven years our players and coaches have evolved and grown and I have a deep appreciation for the 102 players I have coached. I am grateful for my coaching staffs and their dedication to our common goal, while also proud to see three of my former assistants now deservedly NBA head coaches and one a major college head coach.

“I would also like to thank the ownership group, led by Josh Harris and David Blitzer, former GM Sam Hinkie, the 76ers’ historic alumni, our passionate fans, and finally current GM Elton Brand, who I coached and worked for. He is a high-character talent that the 76ers are fortunate to have. I sincerely wish him, the players and the next coaching staff my very best in their pursuit of an NBA championship.”

“We are really disappointed and know we let our fans down,” 76ers owner Josh Harris said. “It’s unacceptable and it’s important that we hold ourselves accountable ... this will be a crucial offseason for us and we need to get it right.”

BRETT BROWN’S PHILLY TENURE

2013-14 — 19 wins, 63 defeats (missed playoffs)

2014-15 — 18 wins, 64 defeats (missed playoffs)

2015-16 — 10 wins, 72 defeats (missed playoffs)

2016-17 — 28 wins, 54 defeats (missed playoffs)

2017-18 — 52 wins, 30 defeats (lost in conference semis)

2018-19 — 51 wins, 31 defeats (lost in conference semis)

2019-20 — 43 wins, 30 defeats (lostin first round)