Larry Brown on fixing Philly: ‘I wish they’d get Allen [Iverson]’
Larry Brown has been pining for the Philadelphia 76ers’s general manager job for years.
It’s an understandable move, working as a GM is a tough gig but it sure beats the heck out of having to coach an NCAA or NBA team every other night. The Sixers, through several ownership groups, have rebuffed all his advances, and for good reason – his pining and personnel influence during his time coaching the 76ers left quite a bit to be desired, once considerations that moved beyond the next night’s game were involved.
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That didn’t stop the current Southern Methodist University coach from commenting on his old squad, in what has become a familiar refrain.
“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.”
Kids do worship Allen Iverson, I suppose. We all worshipped a lot of, um, different people when we were kids.
What is Allen Iverson, exactly, going to do for these young 76ers? This is a man, in his 30s, pulled off the same sort of immature nonsense that Jahlil Okafor pulled at age 19. Is he going to inspire Okafor to get his act together, on that end, by 2027, just to beat AI’s record?
The 76ers have a different ownership group than from the era that saw Iverson first become a 76er, and also from the group that owned the team when they brought him back in 2010. Even without that taint, why should this franchise give the guy yet another chance to walk out on them?
Do recall that in 2006-07 Allen Iverson literally walked out on his Sixers, prior to demanding a trade that was eventually gifted to him in the form of dealing him to the Denver Nuggets. He didn’t just play under a cloud, dodging questions about his hopes for a resolution, still earning on the court what his bank account took in every two weeks. He quit on his team.
A few years later, in Detroit, he walked out on the Pistons.
In 2009, he walked out on the Memphis Grizzlies, the only team that showed him any interest during that offseason, after it was suggested that he might come off the bench.
Later that season following his Memphis release, after the 76ers brought him back for a farewell turn, he walked out on that squad.
So, sure, the kids at SMU that Brown introduces Iverson too probably are gobsmacked in his presence. I would be at age nine if you introduced me to Vince Coleman, and I would be at age 19 had Michael Jordan’s hand met mine. Then you find out that Vince Coleman threw firecrackers at some kids and that MJ is a bit of a salty one, and you find new people to adore.
Allen Iverson was a great basketball player, and while he might not be the basketball genius that he went on record as describing himself as earlier in 2015, he could probably help the Sixers’ youngsters in an advisory role if he ever turned a corner. For the last quarter-century, as NBA teams have become more profitable, dozens of NBA players whose careers went needlessly sour for varying off-court reasons have found employment and done good work with either the league itself, or specific teams. Iverson is just 40 years old. His story ain’t over yet.
The Sixers have problems that run deeper, however.
Sam Hinkie had the right idea in tearing down the perpetually-mediocre franchise in 2013 in a bid to secure endless assets after asset. Even his most ardent critics cannot argue that, despite all the losses, the team will not boast an ungodly bit of potential moving forward – the guy started with Jrue Holiday and he’ll end June of 2016 with seven high-end lottery picks and all the cap room in the world.
He’s also ticked off endless agents, players, his own coach, and a fan base for three whole years. He also thought Kendall Marshall, a guy that turns the ball over at a preposterous rate while coming off an ACL tear, could have changed the Sixers’ fortunes to start the season. His idea was noble, wresting a franchise away from the 41-win grasp of the Rod Thorn and Doug Collins’ eras, but the execution could have been better.
As a result, the Sixers now have Jerry Colangelo around to babysit things due to the NBA’s influence, and I suppose things could be worse – the league could have forced Stu Jackson on a team once again. Colangelo does good work in selling shoes and making Team USA seem like a noble enterprise to those who aren’t paying much attention, but it’s unclear as to what the return to orthodoxy will provide.
There is a report from David Aldridge that the team is attempting to hire Shane Battier and Elton Brand, an obvious extension of Colangelo’s unending fascination with Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. Hinkie may have whiffed on a few things, but it’s also unclear as to who, exactly, he was supposed to bring in as a free agent last summer to help change things.
Were the Sixers supposed to sign David West, as if he’d ever leave $11 million on the table (as he did last summer) to join a rebuilding team? Should they have dealt for Joe Johnson, because he was drafted in the same summer as Battier? Should Carlos Boozer be on this team, because he went to Duke and he’s in his 30s? Who are these mythical additions that are going to stop Jahlil Okafor from getting in fights?
What can be safely assumed is that Larry Brown, currently presiding over a college team that is on academic probation while barred from postseason play, probably isn’t the right guy to listen to at this point.
Then again, we’re not sure anyone is the right guy to listen to at this point.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
