As the Sixers continue to plunge into NBA infamy, Brett Brown continues to develop his young players through this tough, frustrating rebuild process. The last Brown that the Sixers had at the helm, Larry, brought the Sixers to the finals and helped develop one young player that everyone remembers, Allen Iverson. Brown has expressed his distaste for what the team is doing on multiple occasions. Last season, he said it made him "sick to his stomach" and he has recently been trying to get Iverson involved in the front office. Brown is currently serving a nine-game suspension at Southern Methodist University for violations that include academic fraud and unethical conduct, but still has plenty to say regarding the current state of his former team.
“I’m sick of what’s going on there,” Brown said, who’s hopeful that old friend Jerry Colangelo will guide them in the right direction. “You know I care about the Sixers. It’s an unbelievable basketball city and I had a great experience there. I don’t want to get on them when they’re struggling, but they don’t have any veteran leadership. I want to help. I could straighten it out in five minutes. I wish they’d get Allen involved. All those young kids worship him." [CBS Sports]
While he would sure need more than five minutes to fix this situation, one thing Brown points out is veteran leadership. Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel and others are all young without a stable veteran presence to mentor them. Sure, Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten have played more years in the league, but in terms of actually taking young guys under their wings, well that's not really something either of them can offer.
The Sixers may not have many veterans now, but when these kids do begin to pile up some wins in the coming years, they will become leaders and examples for the young players that follow in their footsteps.
