“There were times I wasn’t sure based on what I had if I wanted to chance it. I’m not a gypsy coach. I like staying someplace. But I think this is a very high calculated chance. The risk-reward here tilts far on the upside.’’
Perhaps, in time.
But with Noel, who suffered a devastating knee injury in the midst of his freshman season and is unlikely to return until Christmas at the earliest, it will take a while for the pieces to fit.
Rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams already dubbed Holiday’s replacement, has the raw skills and certainly the size (6-6) to run an offense, but few pieces to work with.
Other than good soldier forward Thaddeus Young, inconsistent wing Evan Turner and big man Spencer Hawes, there’s little proven NBA talent.
That’s where the energetic 52-year-old Brown comes in. He is credited by many for developing the games of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen in San Antonio. Considered a teacher who prides himself on defense, the task before him is daunting. Blend all these pieces of limited ability – along with others that will be thrown into the mix along the way – into a cohesive unit.
The man who hired him, who had witnessed Brown’s skills for years from across the state in Houston, says he was worth the wait.
“Brett brings a positive energy that infects everyone around him,’’ said Hinkie, who quickly determined after taking the GM job that the only way for this franchise to have a chance to go up was for it to first plummet to the depths. “That becomes clear when you meet him and when you talk to players who played for him.
“He has a lot of experience in player development and a diverse sort of background that I really love. A lot of coaches have that, but few have the passion he has.’’
Now Brown, the son of a Hall of Fame high school coach in Portland, Maine who played for a 26-year-old Rick Pitino at Boston University and later spent over a decade watching Popovich work his magic with Tim Duncan & Co., brings that passion here. He will find a fan base that has pretty much written off the Sixers since the Andrew Bynum debacle blew up in their faces.
The natives, already restless with the disappointing play of the Phillies this summer while waiting for the Chip Kelly-led Eagles to stir their juices, are in no mood to watch unfold what figures to be the most dreaded season since Allen Iverson first arrived. They already know it’s going to be bad. They simply have little interest in witnessing the horror.
Just wake them when it’s mercifully over so they can turn the page to what is hopefully a brighter chapter.
Brown isn’t about to kid them – or mince words, either. He’s simply asking for patience, rather than tolerance. That’s part of the reason he insisted on a four-year deal. At the same time, he can’t help but visualize the time – just like Doctor J and Moses did here three decades ago – the Sixers reach the stars.
“Can you imagine if we can get this right?’’ he said with a gleam in his eye. “With the culture here and the pride and the toughness this city has. That is very luring. It’s tempting.
“First and foremost, everyone’s got a right to dream and I’m no different. But it is such a long ways away in my eyes. There is so much work that has to be done and so much luck you need to even think about that. But it’s a great place to aspire to.’’
With that, what he calls this “educated science experiment’’ begins, and at least for the foreseeable future, the 76ers will vanish from the NBA landscape. As far as the networks and talk show pundits wondering if LeBron & Co. will make it Three in a Row or if someone else will finish the job the Spurs messed up back in June are concerned, the Sixers will cease to exist.
Will they ever return? As Brown says, that will require as much luck as skill, starting with getting the ping-pong balls to go their way next May. In the interim, he will keep doing his part, hoping one day it will be safe for Sixers fans to show their faces in public again.
“I’m gonna do my job,’’ he said, matter-of-factly. “Putting those pieces in and the results will be the results.’’
So, after 118 days the Sixers finally have a coach. Now comes the hardest part.
Finding Brett Brown a team.
Jon Marks has covered the Philadelphia 76ers from the days of Dr. J and his teammate, Joe Bryant (best known as Kobe’s dad). He has won awards from the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association and North Jersey Press Club. His other claim to fame is driving Rick Mahorn to a playoff game after missing the team bus. Follow him on Twitter.