Sixers coach Brett Brown talks a good game, lacks talent to back it up
As much as the coach likes to laud his players efforts, the roster is devoid of quality NBA players.
THE THINGS Brett Brown says about his 76ers sound good. The coach will give you statistics that support the idea that this massive rebuilding project is moving smoothly ahead.
The things Brown says sound so good, you almost forget the Sixers' record over his first two seasons is 37-127 and isn't expected to be a lot better for the 2015-16 season.
"I think that at some point, you've got to start winning," Brown said at a media luncheon yesterday as the Sixers make final preparations for the start of training camp next week. "I look at going into my third year and you say, what do you have to show for it?
"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind - and the stats would back it up - if you ask how do they play defense? You can see what we are trying to build. There is a culture building, a philosophy of how we want to guard.
"If you say, how do they play offense? There is no doubt that they play a high-pace style that takes the third-most efficient shots in the NBA. The problem is, we haven't been making them."
Darn it, there's always a rub with the Sixers.
It has nothing to do with effort or culture or philosophy or anything like that.
The primary problem with the Sixers - and it's the same one they've had since this process began - is a lack of talent.
Because of some things that have been under the control of Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie and others that have not, Brown has not been given a roster with enough quality players to field a competitive NBA team.
Looking at the players the Sixers will take into training camp at Stockton University in Galloway Township, N.J., it appears to be more of the same.
Being generous, four players - third-year forward Nerlens Noel, rookie center Jahlil Okafor, combo guard Tony Wroten and newly acquired guard Nik Stauskas - can be considered legitimate pieces to a serious rebuilding plan.
"I think the skill package you are looking at from these young players, you can point to truly identifiable NBA skills," Brown said.
I still don't see that in most of the Sixers. Most of their upsides do not exceed that of fringe NBA players.
Touting improvement comes within the context of a team deficient in talent.
"You open the door to our gym and see, 1 1/2 hours or two hours before we are set to practice, you see 20-year-olds sweating and working on areas to improve that are clearly identified," Brown said. "You see our commitment to sports science.
"None of that stuff may mean a lot to the fans and probably doesn't mean much to the media, but, to me, as the head coach of the program, all of that matters.
"The philosophy of what are we trying to do, I'm proud of that."
It's not about the effort. It's about execution.
The Sixers have six point guards battling it out, which means they probably don't have one real point guard.
Brown says free-agent pickup Kendall Marshall, who, so far, has been a bust as the 13th pick in the 2012 draft and could not make the Sixers' roster after playing for the D-League Delaware 87ers in 2013, might be the best option at point guard.
Individually, Noel and Okafor have high upsides, but they have yet to be on the court together.
The issue is that both are centers and both lack some aspect in their games that would allow a position move. Noel hasn't shown the offensive game to facilitate a switch to power forward, and Okafor hasn't displayed the defensive quickness to do it.
This is where another season-ending foot surgery to big man Joel Embiid and the fact that power forward Dario Saric will spend at least another season in Europe hurts the process.
Will a change of scenery from Sacramento to the Sixers rekindle Stauskas, who had a miserable rookie season as the eighth overall pick in 2014?
There are still more questions than answers.
"I wouldn't be telling the truth if you told me when I accepted this position we would be where we are at in our third year," Brown said. "But I want everyone to understand that is not at all to be taken as a negative message.
"We're still in the (process) of identifying and growing people. I feel that when you look at the players we have, they have a far greater chance to be kept than ones that I've had in the past.
"We're not downplaying the importance of winning. That's why we do our job. I don't believe that is our final report card yet. I still don't believe our judgment day is here yet. We do want to get more wins. We do want to grow our own. How could we not?"
Sixers fans will again have to accept more of the losing than the winning.
Columns: ph.ly/Smallwood