No tank zone. No tank zone… They know better.
Yesterday was the start of what looks to be another great NBA season. However, for Hall of Fame coach, Larry Brown, Philadelphia’s not looking as Sunny as it did during his era — the era of Allen Iverson and company. To those unaware, Larry Brown is the man that helped bring the AI-led 76ers to the finals in 2001.
Regarding today’s team, the Sixers are in year two of their rumored five-year tank plan. Despite being a low level strategy that helped the Cleveland Cavaliers become the first team in over 25 years to have four no. 1 draft picks, fans accustomed to building teams by developing players and talent will be on hold for quite a while.
While there’s nothing that anyone outside of the Sixers organization can do to stop this, the Philadelphia Inquirer caught up with the storied former coach to grasp his opinion on the matter and he had a lot to say.
“I hate what’s going on in Philly,” the Hall of Fame coach said Wednesday. “They don’t have a basketball person in the organization. It makes me sick to my stomach.”
“No, I wouldn’t do it. We wouldn’t lose. Brett [Brown] can coach, he’s one of Pop’s guys,” Brown said, referring to San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich. “But what they are doing to that city to me is mind-boggling. That’s the greatest basketball city in the world with its fans and you want them to sit back and watch you lose.
“Can you imagine telling Allen Iverson that this is a rebuilding season so we’re going to be bad on purpose?” Brown continued. “I love [Nerlens] Noel, I love Joel [Embiid]. But you can’t put that stuff into them. Again, it boggles my mind. I understand you have to get assets to get better. You get assets by developing young players, draft picks and moving contracts. But how much teaching is going on?”
“These analytics, they don’t mean squat to me,” Brown said. “Throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks. To say that these analytics guys have the answer is crazy. It doesn’t apply to basketball. Everybody uses the data you get, but that’s what coaching is. Maybe it will work, I don’t know. But it’s a shame what those fans are going through waiting to see if it will.”
–Jamaal Fisher (@jamaalfisher)
