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The duality of Brett Brown and where his firing leaves the Sixers

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Author Andrew Salciunas

After Doris Burke was done eviscerating the Sixers organization and the truth of her words sunk in, I almost changed the channel. I knew what was about to come. A sweep on national TV at the hands of your bitter rival would inevitably lead to yahoos like this guy.

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2020

The unmitigated gall of some people to desecrate landmarks in such a childish way.

I laughed, to keep it real.

That’s what you open yourself up to when Jayson Tatum is splashing threes in defender’s mugs, when Kemba Walker has guys on skates and the whole Celtics bench is laughing and whooping it up like they’re watching early episodes of the Chappelle Show.

As I absorbed the moment with the veracity of Burke’s words ringing in my ears, the broadcast whisked away to the next game.

Here we go again, I thought. Another offseason of more questions than direct answers. Excuses, finger pointing and yes, some accountability. But Sixers fans are sailing the loathsome seas of uncertainty once again.

Issues with the team’s brass? Check. A search for a new head coach and no clear sign of who can make this situation work? Check. A shaky roster with a lot of promise that’s not actualizing its potential? I think you get what I mean.

The more I think about it, one of the most sure things about this whole debacle is Brett Brown. As he and the team part ways, I could actually see him succeeding somewhere else. Maybe he gets the New Orleans job or lands in Chicago or another opening.

It’s weird … I know he can coach. That’s evidenced sheerly by how long he’s been in the game and the championships he’s won at various levels. He’s the coach of the Australian national team. He’s well respected in high level basketball circles and you get that when you talk to him.

He’s also one steely-eyed son of a gun, enduring a plethora of losses during The Process, a stint as interim GM and countless medical updates all while coaching 102 players during his tenure.

Brown is not the coach for this situation. Not anymore. His message has worn thin and his voice doesn’t resonate with the players. Josh Richardson finally cemented accountability as an issue in the locker room.

My wife often says that you have to make room for people’s dualities. No one is just one thing. Brown is a great man and a sharp basketball mind, but he wore out his welcome here after seven years and almost 600 games. It doesn’t mean he’s not a good coach or person, but his coaching persona simply wasn’t going to deliver a championship here. Both things can be true at the same time.

For the first time since 2013, the Sixers will maneuver through the labyrinth of the NBA offseason without Brown. I’m honestly not sure who’s better off. I wonder if Burke could help with this part, too?

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Andrew Salciunas, “The Choonis,” has done it all at the station - screening calls, working events as a member of the street team, producing 7 days a week, doing updates, and now hosting his own show. Now with a wife and kid, his life experiences are far different than when he first started, but this “regular guy” knows how to relate to anyone. He writes about the Flyers, Phillies, Sixers, and Eagles.

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Author Andrew Salciunas
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