It's been three weeks since Draft night when a report broke during the draft stating San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Brett Brown was about to be hired by the Philadelphia 76ers as their new head coach.
Later that Thursday evening, Spurs General Manager R.C. Buford dispelled the rumor and said no such deal had been done. Since those three weeks, there have been multiple reports of the 76ers speaking with other assistant coaches around the NBA as they are still the only franchise without a head coach.
Early Thursday morning, ESPN's Marc Stein had some interesting tweets from his sources saying after all the interviews are done, Brown could likely be the man hired for the job.
No matter how many candidates Sixers interview, coaching insiders continue to insist Philly job is going to Michael Curry or Brett Brown
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 18, 2013
But word in coaching circles persists that Curry on one-year basis while team tanks or Brown off Spurs' bench still Philly's top two options
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 18, 2013
Latest rumble is that Brett Brown, one of Pop's longtime top aides in SA and Australia's NT coach, will get last interview Philly conducts
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 18, 2013
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The Brown to 76ers interest has actually been going on reportedly since June 25, two days before the draft as the 76ers were granted permission by the Spurs to speak with Brown. Brown was also a top candidate for the Boston Celtics before they hired Brad Stevens.
The Spurs' assistant coaches currently on staff are Brown, Ime Udoka, and the newly hired Jim Boylen. Mike Budenholzer has begun his offseason as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, while there was a rumor the Spurs were interested in Ron Adams, before he decided to take a job as an assistant with the Celtics.
For now Brown remains an assistant under Gregg Popovich, but his tenure in San Antonio may be coming to a close if he's selected by the 76ers.
