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76ers Rumors: Warriors' Mike Brown 'Could Be in the Mix' for Head Coaching Job
August 26, 2020
Golden State Warriors associate head coach Mike Brown is reportedly under consideration to fill the Philadelphia 76ers' head coaching vacancy.
Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Tuesday that Brown "could be in the mix" as "communications are happening" between the sides, but no formal interview date has been set.
The Sixers fired Brett Brown, the team's head coach for the past seven seasons, Monday after they were eliminated from the 2020 NBA playoffs by the Boston Celtics.
Pompey noted other early candidates to replace Brown include Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue, 76ers assistant Ime Udoka, Villanova head coach Jay Wright and former Grizzlies and Kings head coach Dave Joerger
Brown has spent the past four seasons as an assistant for the Warriors, and he owns 23 years of NBA coaching experience. He previously served as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for six seasons across two stints and the Los Angeles Lakers for just over a year.
He worked as an assistant with the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers before getting his first opportunity as a head coach with the Cavs in 2005.
The 50-year-old Ohio native posted 347-216 record (.616 winning percentage) across seven-plus seasons as a head coach. He's also compiled a 47-36 mark (.566) in the playoffs, highlighted by leading the Cavaliers to the 2007 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Spurs.
In May, Brown told Logan Murdock of NBC Sports Bay Area he wasn't sure whether he'd become a head coach again, saying he enjoyed with role with the Dubs:
"I'm happy. I look forward to going into the office every single day, just being around that environment. But in the same breath, yeah, if the right opportunity comes across my plate and I have the privilege to be a head coach again, there's only 30 of them out there. If it's the right fit, I'll jump on it.
"But in no way, shape or form am I champing at the bits or trying to force it to happen because it may not ever happen. I don't know. I don't have any control over it. It is a challenge that especially being an assistant and looking at that seat in a different light and learning differently and all that other stuff, especially after going through this, the competitive part in me wants to be able to see if you can handle it again."
Meanwhile, along with the coaching search, the Sixers' front office faces another offseason of questions about whether center Joel Embiid and point guard Ben Simmons, who missed the playoffs because of knee surgery, is a strong enough foundation to win a championship, or if it's time to rebuild the core.