Jaylen Brown shares details of his onboarding process — on and off the court — with the Sixers
Learning new defensive terminology and getting his family situated are among things on Brown’s to-do list this week.
As the 76ers concluded practice Thursday and media came into their facility, Jaylen Brown was again the last one to leave the floor.
After working on some post-ups and back-to-the-basket moves on Wednesday, Brown was participating in small group workouts with members of the player development staff and players like Justin Edwards and Rayan Rupert.
That facet of training camp — the ability to work with and impart knowledge to some of the younger players — has been a highlight for Brown so far.
“A lot of them have shown me a lot of respect,” Brown said. “Ask me questions, or ask to jump in my workouts, and I’m welcome and I’m open to all of that, being a teacher. I was a guy who was always asking questions, so I appreciate it when the young guys are asking questions.”
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It’s all part of an acclimation process that Brown said earlier this week was happening in “phases” as he moves from Boston to Philadelphia. In fact, he said, most of his things were arriving in Philadelphia on Thursday from Boston.
“It took a lot to find a place, it wasn’t hard, but it wasn’t the easiest either,” Brown said.
Part of moving is making sure his family is situated, including Brown’s 85-year-old grandfather.
“I gotta pick and choose my battles with him,” Brown said with a smile. “He’s excited, but it is a bunch of little stuff that goes into just, not just making sure that I’m comfortable, but my family as well. Everybody around here has been super accommodating, so I’m grateful for that.”
Among the most accommodating, Brown said, was guard Tyrese Maxey, who has gone out of his way to make sure Brown has been comfortable in his transition. Brown has taken note of the effort Maxey is putting in to make sure Brown and all the new Sixers feel at home, a sign of Maxey’s growing leadership as he enters year seven.
“He’s overemphasized trying to make me feel comfortable, even if I didn’t need it,” Brown said. “He’s been a great host.”
Like any profession, basketball players thrive most when they are comfortable on and off the court. The goings on of everyday life — the hassle of moving, making sure your family is OK — can filter into the workspace.
So far, so good on that front though, Brown said, as the talent-loaded Sixers have been through three practices. The first two, coach Nick Nurse said, were heavy on scrimmages and defense, while Thursday was more of a “mental” and recovery day. Nurse spent the first two days working more on defense with Thursday being the first day they started installing some of the offense, like sets and out-of-bounds plays.
Brown isn’t so worried about the Sixers coming together on the offensive end.
“It won’t be as hard because we got so much talent,” Brown said.
He echoed what several Sixers and Nurse said over the last week, which is that the defensive side is going to require more focus, given the need to play on a string and communicate.
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“Clear communication, identifying coverages and holding each other accountable,” Brown said. “Getting back on defense as well. So we’ve been working on that. That’ll be a part where, it’s just a whole new system, whole new calls. I gotta like, download my brain to a different algorithm to make sure I’m not calling the wrong stuff. Because the names are different.”
Chalk that up as another adjustment from one team and city to the next.
As Maxey said earlier in the week, it was “awkward,” but in a good way, seeing Brown in a Sixers jersey. It’s a process that is taking a lot of recalibration for everyone. Like for Nurse, who battled against Brown when he coached the Toronto Raptors and Sixers.
“It looked the same as it looked coaching against him,” Nurse said Tuesday. “You’re out there and you’re looking at him and you say, ‘Man, this guy’s really tough. Really good.’”
For Maxey and Embiid, who have been his rivals for years. For fans, who were used to disliking him in that Celtics green. And for Brown too, who has to re-wire his brain after 10 years of defensive calls with the Celtics. Just one of the many things that take getting used to in Philadelphia.
“Some of the terminology, they use the same words, but it’s a whole different coverage,” Brown said. “... So you gotta be able to like, make sure I’m calling the right stuff. Make sure everybody’s on the same page. Make sure when we come out of the timeouts, out of the huddles, we all know what we’re in. We all know what we’re supposed to be doing.”
