It took less than 24 hours for the Sixers' top players to offer their response to the rumors about Brett Brown's job security. They were clear, they were concise, and they were unified in one belief: the coach deserves to remain in place for the foreseeable future. That message was most important to hear from Joel Embiid, who went about sticking up for Brown in the way only he can. "I heard about all these rumors and stuff and I just thought it was bulls***," Embiid said during exit interviews. "He's done a fantastic job. He's been there through everything and this year I think he grew even more as a coach. He learned, we all learned." "It's hard when you've got five guys that can score the ball and do a lot of things on the basketball court, it's hard to put it together. At the end of the day, it comes down to the players. I don't think he should have anything to worry about. He's an amazing coach, a better person, and obviously, I've got a lot of love for him. If there was someone to blame, put it all on me." That is as strong of an endorsement, as strong of a message of protection for the head coach as you're going to hear publicly. And it means the most coming from Embiid, the team's most important player, whose voice will hold sway in their decision-making whether they cop to that publicly or not. But you almost came into the day expecting this from him — he's the team's longest-tenured player and the man who probably has the deepest bond with Brown on the roster. Anything less than a ringing endorsement would have been a shocker. To a man, the Sixers' stars lined up one-by-one to offer similar thoughts. There was Jimmy Butler: I think he realized how different of a human being that I am, how I can be difficult at times, but I swear it’s from the right place. I love to win, I work so hard and study my game and everybody else’s. But I think he has a huge heart. He’s a great, great dude and he works incredibly hard. You’ve gotta respect that about him. He’s always thinking of how he can make everybody great, which is hard to do when you have a roster like we have/had, but I think he’s going to be here for a long time. There was JJ Redick: It seems like it's pretty obvious that I would say that I love Brett, I've loved playing for him, he has my full support, and I think what he has done for this organization is nothing short of remarkable...I don't feel it necessary to defend Brett to anyone, I think his work speaks for itself. On and on the interviews went, with role players and stars alike expressing their gratitude for the experience they had in Philadelphia this year. Even Furkan Korkmaz, who recalled demanding a trade early this season and then watched as half the team get traded, referred to the Sixers as a "basketball culture," rather than an organization or a franchise. Think about that — an end-of-bench guy who wanted out still couldn't stop himself from praising the culture built in Philadelphia. The mood at the practice facility on Monday was one of regret and an opportunity gone by, but it was not a day filled with angst over the failures of the leaders in place. There are so many competing interests that it would have been easy for one of the Sixers' players to give a half-hearted endorsement or open the door for speculation about Brown's ability to keep control of the locker room. Instead, we were given the opposite impression. The players felt the staff behind them did everything they could possibly do to help them win in the playoffs, and that there should be no doubt about his long-term security as the day-to-day leader of the Sixers. Ben Simmons reflected on his childhood connection to Brown, and noted that few coaches would have taken a chance on him playing point guard full-time as Brown did over his first two seasons. Embiid doubled down on his assertion that he would take all the blame for the fate of the Toronto series to close his presser, going out of his way to mention that blame should not be pinned solely on the coach. "I'll take it all. You can put this loss on me, you can put everything else on me, but don't just put it on the coach or anybody else," Embiid said. "I love when you guys or anybody else talks sh**, I guess, because, I see it all somehow... I love when people tell me that I can't do something because I'm going to go back and work hard and I'm going to get it right. I'm excited. Tough ending of the season but I feel like everybody did their job, we played hard, we're going to get back here." Whether or not the Sixers bring Brown back remains unclear. Exit interviews with Brown and Brand are tentatively scheduled for Tuesday morning, which will tell us a lot more about where he stands with the organization than words of support from his players. But the players did not shy away from the subject. Are the Sixers willing to part with the man whose support is that strong in the locker room to take a crack at an uninspiring crop of candidates? It seems they probably shouldn't be. Follow Kyle on Twitter: @KyleNeubeck Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports<doc-sep>One mark of a successful startup CEO is, Eric Ries argues in The Lean Startup, a willingness to learn and listen and to make tons of experiments on the fly until the company finds the optimal strategy- without sinking the ship along the way. I really can’t think of any coach who embodies that description better than Brett Brown. Brett Brown wasn’t the Sixers problem. Contrarily, he was probably a top 10 coach in the NBA this year by my non-expert estimation. It wouldn’t make sense to fire him without a definitive and identifiable upgrade. The list of people who fit that bill is quite brief. If the team can persuade Gregg Popovich to leave the Spurs and take over for Brett Brown, I think Brett himself would be the first to congratulate his bosses for landing the greatest coach of all time. But that’s not likely. And neither is upgrading over Brown this off-season. Replacing him with a rookie signal caller or a name who failed in his last job isn’t worth the risk. Joel Embiid seems to agree: "I just thought it was bullshit. He has done a fantastic job," Joel Embiid says of the rumors surrounding Brett Brown — Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) May 13, 2019 It seems there are going to be plenty of rumors about Brown’s ousting until the front office either speaks up to defend him or fires him. And the latter would probably be a very costly mistake. Let’s put into perspective some challenges the Sixers coach has faced over the last two seasons- we don’t even need to get into “The Process” here or the way his leadership helped shape the current team’s culture through the adversity of that trying period. It’s too much, but I have heard Knicks coach David Fizdale refer to Brown as a model of strength, stability and culture he looked up to this season. It’s something. Last Year Following “The Process” and all of its intended losing, the 2017-2018 season was Brett’s first where he had a viable and healthy enough roster to work with. Reasonable expectations for the first regular season he had Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons together were exceeded. Projected for about 42.5 wins, they beat that number handily and posted 53 a year ago. Those types of surprises often have guys in the conversation for Coach of the Year. How did he do it? He found ways to win when Embiid was healthy and he found new and creative ways to win when he was out with an orbital fracture, featuring more of Ben Simmons. One thing that does not happen much in the NBA is high profile point guards acquired in the top of the lottery helping to turn their teams around immediately. While guards like Kemba Walker or Steph Curry had through their age 25 or 26 seasons to refine their craft, Simmons was thrust into the spotlight immediately and delivered under Brown’s tutelage. Simmons, without a jump shot and a sometimes clunky fit alongside Embiid worked with Brown and they won games. Every day people debate what Simmons’ natural position is or how he and Embiid might best co-exist. It’s not a seamless fit but they’ve come so far from the beginning when Brett would stagger as many of their minutes as he could. They won then before there was any chemistry; much more wins than reasonable folks thought the team might win. A well known successful sports gambler who (known for targeting poor coaches to bet against) was eventually hired by the Dallas Mavericks. Haralabos Voulgaris pointed out last season that Brown was routinely beating vegas’ expectations for his fledgling core and should be lauded for his adjustments. By the time the season was over, only the Celtics’ (Brad Stevens) and Pacers’ (Nate McMillan) had posted better records “against-the-spread.” (Smart money always knows who to bet on or against). It wasn’t until the second round of the playoffs when the team lost in 5 games to the injury-depleted Boston Celtics that anyone felt the 76ers had underachieved. But despite being led by a rookie point guard in his age 21 season, and a center playing in his age 23 and first full season, there was very little playoff experience among any of the team’s best players. This year This season presented plenty of new challenges. Expected to win around 53.5 games they fell a half-win short of that mark. Of course vegas didn’t know they were going to attempt to work Markelle Fultz into the lineup even though he wasn’t at all a reliable perimeter threat or that there might be so much roster turnover. While it may feel like a life-time ago that Brown was attempting to figure out ways to win NBA games with Fultz or Wilson Chandler in the starting lineup, he managed. When he was asked to find ways to win by convincing Embiid, at this point an MVP candidate, to space the floor more to allow more opportunities for Simmons and the newly acquired and tempestuous Jimmy Butler, he managed. When he later wanted to put the ball in Butler’s hands more to close games and had to take the ball away from Simmons, he managed that too. If difficult personalities challenged him, he managed. When players would get injured or sick and the team would release vague, confusing or simply false information, Brett was asked to handle that publicly. And he managed that too. (Pause: has any head coach ever, in any sport, been asked to deal with and handle more awkward medical updates than Brown has over the last few years? If Brown went to another team where he was simply asked to coach one team all year and not spend tons of time thinking about what to say regarding scapular dyskinesis, yips, allergies, broken feet, meniscuses, load management or knee tendinitis, how much better of a coach might he be?) When he inherited the final (and in many ways flawed and incomplete) iteration of his final team in February, he did some experimenting and managed again.<doc-sep>There have been rumors circulating about Brett Brown’s future with the Philadelphia 76ers. Players were unanimous in their support. More often than not, players will support a coach in public. It’s rare for anyone — even stars with untenable egos and clear motivations — to outright discredit a coach to the media. With that said, the Philadelphia 76ers‘ exit interviews were still telling. As rumors circulate regarding Brett Brown’s future with the organization, multiple players were quick to offer support. It has been stated multiple times on this site that firing Brown would be a mistake. A serious miscalculation on the front office and ownership’s part. If the Sixers were to fire Brown, it would most likely be a face-saving measure. It would symbolize and attempt to infuse change after another second-round loss. But equating this season’s second-round exit to last season’s would be borderline foolish. The Raptors are the better team and the Sixers were much closer, just a four-bounce buzzer-beater away from overtime in Game 7. There is more legitimacy behind blaming the Sixers’ loss on Elton Brand than Brett Brown. The Sixers’ roster was the biggest issue. In Game 7, the only negative plus/minuses on the roster were the Sixers’ three bench pieces. Greg Monroe, who filled the Sixers’ final roster spot, was a -9 in under two minutes. On Toronto’s end, the only positive plus/minuses on the roster were Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet. The bench. Philadelphia was done in by a complete inability to sit the starters, if anything else. Embiid played 45 minutes and those three minutes without him felt akin to walking a tightrope. Brown coached three interactions of the Sixers this season, still leading an imperfect and constantly-changing roster to 51 wins and a near-conference finals berth. He has maintained a thriving locker room culture through roster turnover and the inclusion of two new stars, one being the historically disruptive Jimmy Butler. He deserves tons of credit. At exit interviews, several players jumped on the same boat — including Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler, the Sixers’ best player and the one who, from the outside, had the most contentious relationship with Brown. Here’s what Embiid told the media when asked about the Brown rumors. “I just thought it was bulls–. He has done a fantastic job. I don’t think he should have anything to worry about. Amazing coach, better person, and obviously I got a lot of love for him. If there was someone to blame, put it all on me. I take it all, you can put this loss on me, you can put it all on me. Don’t just put it on the coach or anybody else…I love when you guys or anybody else talk shit, I see it all.” — via Kyle Neubeck And Butler. “(Our relationship) is constantly growing, that’s for sure…I think he realized how different of a human being I am. How I can be difficult at times, but I swear it’s from a good place…He has a huge heart. He’s a great, great dude that works incredibly hard…I think he’s gonna be here for a long time.” — via Derek For someone in Butler’s situation to back Brown so strongly should give the front office all it needs to keep Brown on board. Not only is Butler a potential free agent, but he was likely Brown’s most vocal critic in the locker room. That’s his nature. Brown’s heart and work ethic are very much evident. As the Sixers move into an ominous summer, there needs to be one source of stability. One source of continuity. That should be Brett Brown.<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>
If there was one major takeaway from the Philadelphia 76ers' 2018-19 exit interviews, which were held at the team's practice facility in Camden on Monday, it's that Brett Brown has the full support of his players. Brown has been in his role with the Sixers since 2013, and after overseeing several seasons of roster reconstruction, he has led the franchise to consecutive 50-win seasons and Eastern Conference semifinal appearances. However, speculation regarding his job security has swirled throughout Philadelphia's playoff push, fueled by noncommittal comments made by Sixers owner Josh Harris in April, as well as a report that suggested that Brown needed to advance to at least the Eastern Conference finals in order to keep his job after general manager Elton Brand went all-in on an expensive, star-studded roster. By bowing out in the second round again, Brown and the Sixers may have failed to meet the lofty expectations of team ownership, but, if it were up to the players that he coaches on a daily basis, Brown wouldn't be going anywhere. "I heard about all the rumors and stuff and I just thought it was bullshit," Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid said. "He's done a fantastic job. He's been there through everything and this year I think he grew even more as a coach. He learned, we all learned. It's hard when you've got five guys that can score the ball and do a lot of things on the basketball court, it's hard to put it together. "At the end of the day, it comes down to the players. I don't think he should have anything to worry about. He's an amazing coach, a better person, and obviously, I've got a lot of love for him. If there was someone to blame, put it all on me." Brown was tasked with keeping the ship straight through consistent turnover, as the organization made not one, but two blockbuster trades that completely reshaped the roster over the course of the season. Only a handful of the players that were at training camp with the Sixers in September were still with the team at exit interviews. Incorporating all of those new personalities into the existing structure while keeping the team focused and united was a tall task, but Brown was able to handle it well -- something that isn't lost on his players. "I think he realized how different of a human being that I am," Jimmy Butler said of Brown. "How I can be difficult at times, but I swear it's from the right place. I love to win. I work so hard and study my game and everybody else's. I think he has a huge heart. He's a great, great dude and he works incredibly hard. You've got to respect that about him. He's always thinking of how he can make everybody great, which is hard to do when you have a roster like we have, had, but I think he's going to be here for a long time." Butler only played for Brown for a matter of months, but veteran guard JJ Redick has been in Philadelphia for a couple of years now, and he has been equally impressed with what he's seen from Brown. He even went as far as to call Brown's work with the Sixers "remarkable." "It seems like it's pretty obvious that I would say that I love Brett. I've loved playing for him, he has my full support, and I think what he has done for this organization is nothing short of remarkable," Redick said. "I don't feel it necessary to defend Brett to anyone, I think his work speaks for itself." Being liked by your players is far from the only aspect of coaching, but it is a big part of it, and Brown has it down. The Sixers could still opt to go in a different direction, but it's clear that it wouldn't be a very popular decision in the locker room.