Brown wants Sixers to reach out to Embiid

Sixers head coach Brett Brown gathered his team on Friday afternoon before practicing at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He said he talked "very quickly" about Thursday's preseason loss to Boston before moving on "to the most important thing."

He told all the players that they needed to find a way to reach out - on their own terms - to Joel Embiid. Brown told the team that "their friend, their teammate" had went through an "incredible, personal tragedy."

The rookie center left the team on Thursday after learning that his 13-year-old brother Arthur had died in Cameroon. Arn Tellem, Embiid's agent, said Embiid's brother died in a car accident.

"The motive is to just do the right thing," said Brown. "It's just trying to help him in a terrible time. To see a young man have to go through that and to be with him while he's going through that initial news, there are no words that you can choose to describe that."

Brown too missed Thursday's game as he sat with general manager Sam Hinkie at Embiid's apartment to help the rookie cope. The coach said the 20-year-old Embiid and his younger sister, LoLo, flew to Cameroon on Friday to be with their parents. Embiid's sister, a freshman volleyball player at Rochester College in Michigan, flew into Philadelphia on Thursday night.

"To see her come through the door and be with him, he felt a little bit of relief that he has even more comfort and support," Brown said.

Embiid tweeted a picture of Arthur on Friday afternoon. He said he had not seen his brother since leaving Cameroon four years ago to attend high school in Florida.

"I was just thinking to next summer so I have a chance to finally see him again," wrote Embiid. "God has a plan for all of us. We just have to pray. He's going to be missed."

In a statement, Hinkie said Embiid's loss was unfathomable.

"To receive that news while 6,000 miles away from your family is more than any of us are equipped to handle alone. Joel is not alone," Hinkie said.

The Sixers resume their preseason schedule on Saturday night against Orlando at the PPL Center in Allentown. Embiid, selected third overall in June's draft, has been sidelined since last summer's right-foot surgery. He is expected to miss the majority of this season.

Brown did not see much of his team's loss to Boston. He said the game played on a television off in the distance, but his mind was not on basketball.

"It's a horrific tragedy in his family," said Brown. "For him to be away from his country and to be away from his family in a time like this, you just try to do your best to help him get through this. And only time will have a chance to heal it a little bit. It was a long day."

@matt_breen