Nick Piccone
I don’t think this’ll come as a shock to anybody, but Jerry and Bryan Colangelo, fresh off of running Sam Hinkie out of town because they couldn’t Trust the Process™, also wanted to run Brett Brown out of town at some point within the last couple of years.
I know there were rumors flying about Brown once the Colangelos came on board, but the Sixers head coach signed a three-year extension through 2022 the same night The Ringer posted that now infamous article disclosing Barbara Bottini’s burner Twitter accounts.
Poetic justice?
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who appeared on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt last night, the Colangelos were ready to move on from Brown once Mike D’Antoni – which many believed was the Sixers’ head coach in waiting once hired – accepted a job as the Houston Rockets’ head coach. And the Colangelos wanted Jay Wright.
Brett Brown remains undefeated pic.twitter.com/BpNfILEKKE
— Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) June 8, 2018
“Brett Brown was never Bryan Colangelo’s coach or Jerry Colanegelo’s coach. And when they came in, when Jerry Colangelo took over, you know, he put Mike D’Antoni on Brett Brown’s staff. Mike D’Antoni wasn’t put there just to be an assistant coach. Their plan, their hope was eventually, Mike D’Antoni would be the head coach. But Mike D’Antoni got the Houston Rocket job. And even through the great progress they made this year, getting to the second round of the playoffs, winning 50+ regular season games, there was always a thought in the Colangelos’ mind that they’d get their own guy in there. And the guy that they had always targeted, I’m told, was Jay Wright at Villanova. But they underestimated how popular Brett Brown was with the fans, ownership, and the players. And the spirit with which Brown carries himself has permeated that organization.”
I’m not saying Jay Wright wouldn’t be an amazing NBA coach, but at this point, Brown needed to be given a chance with the parts that were in place this season. He hit a home run. With his new extension, he’ll be given a longer leash to see what he can do with these players. And maybe at the end of his deal – short of firing him – the Sixers will look for Wright to replace him. If he wants to. And if he’s not already coaching another NBA squad.
You can follow Nick Piccone on Twitter (@nickpiccone) and Instagram (@picconenick), and e-mail him at [email protected]. Subscribe to The Straight Shooters Podcast (@ShootersRadio) on iTunes here and listen every Friday afternoon at 2:00 P.M. on Wildfire Radio. Click here to read his pro wrestling articles on PhillyVoice.
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