The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have signed rookies Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams. They were both first-round draft picks, and therefore were guaranteed to receive contracts. So, this move is standard and was expected.

Carter-Williams (6-6, 185) was the 11th overall pick by Philadelphia in the 2013 NBA Draft. As a sophomore at Syracuse last season, the 21-year-old averaged 12 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals en route to earning All-Big East Second Team honors. Back in July, Carter-Williams averaged 14 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals for the Sixers in the Orlando Pro Summer League.

Noel (6-11, 228) was originally the sixth overall pick by New Orleans in the 2013 NBA Draft. The Sixers acquired his rights along with a 2014 first round pick from the Pelicans in exchange for Jrue Holiday and the 42nd pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. As a freshman at Kentucky last season, the 19-year-old averaged 11 points, 10 rebounds and two steals while leading the NCAA with nearly four and a half blocks. Noel was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-SEC.

Carter-Williams and Noel were teammates in Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball during high school.

The Sixers have hired Greg Foster as an assistant coach, according to a source close to the situation.

Foster, 44, joins Lloyd Pierce and Chad Iske on Brett Brown’s staff after spending the last three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Texas at El Paso, his alma mater.

He played power forward and center for nine teams in a 13-year NBA career that included two trips to the NBA Finals with the Utah Jazz and a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001. He also played professionally in Spain and Greece.

Reported by Jason Wolf of the Courier Post (Blog)

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have added Brandon D. Williams to the front office. Williams will also oversee the Delaware 87ers as General Manager, the first in team history. The Sevens begin their inaugural NBA Development League season in late November.

Williams joins the clubs after serving eight seasons in the NBA’s League Office, most recently as the NBA’s Associate Vice President of Basketball Operations. Prior to that position, Williams served as the Director of Player Development in the NBA’s Community and Player Programs department. He worked closely with teams across the league in helping prepare players for the demands of being a professional athlete as well as aiding their eventual transition away from the game to a second career.

Williams is well versed in the challenges a young player faces in his pursuit of making the NBA. A standout player at Davidson, Williams earned All-Southern Conference First Team honors as a senior in 1996. After going undrafted, Williams played both overseas and in the Continental Basketball Association before appearing in his first NBA game as a member of the Golden State Warriors in 1998. The following season, Williams was picked up by the San Antonio Spurs, who went onto win the NBA Championship. All totaled for his career, Williams played internationally in six countries. He also experienced the D-League up close as an Honorable Mention All D-League player for the Huntsville Flight in 2003.

In addition to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Davidson, Williams received his Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University School of Law-Newark in 2012. While enrolled at Davidson, Williams interned at the White House for the Domestic Policy Council during President Bill Clinton’s first term.

Khalif Wyatt will become a 76er. The undrafted rookie free agent out of Temple agreed to terms with the team Thursday night.

Wyatt will sign a partially guaranteed, multiyear contract on Friday. The guard will be on the team’s roster when it opens the season against the Miami Heat on Oct. 30. However, there is a chance that Wyatt will spend part of the season with the Delaware 87ers, the Sixers’ NBA Development League affiliate.

Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Blog)

NBA player Royce White — who famously missed his rookie season with the Houston Rockets due to mental health issues — is at the center of a criminal investigation in Texas after allegedly beating up his then-girlfriend … TMZ has learned.

We know … White’s ex-girlfriend Tania Mehra — a Maxim model — filed a police report on August 30 to report an incident that went down at Royce’s Houston-area home back in June.

According to law enforcement, records show someone called 911 on June 22, 2013 to report a laceration above Tania’s right eye. Cops say at the time, Tania claimed she suffered the injury from an “accidental fall.”

Reported by TMZ.com

Allen Iverson’s ex-wife is sick and tired of dragging him to court to squeeze out child support … she’s asking a judge to make him cough up the next 13 years worth RIGHT NOW — a cool $1.2 MILLION.

TMZ broke the story … after the couple’s nasty divorce Iverson was ordered to pay $8000/month in child support for their 5 kids. Problem is, Tawanna has gone to court on numerous occasions because A.I. won’t pay.

It came to a head in July when a judge threatened Iverson with jail, unless he forked over $40,000 in back support — which he did. But Tawanna says she doesn’t want to keep running into the same problem.

Reported by TMZ.com

Still living out of a suitcase in a hotel, Sam Hinkie has yet to really settle in Philadelphia.

But in four months, he’s already become quite comfortable running the 76ers.

Hinkie has already made sweeping changes in his short tenure as Philadelphia’s president and general manager, hiring coach Brett Brown, trading All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday, hoarding future draft picks, and making moves for low-cost, low-risk players who could blossom in the right system.

He’s done it all with the simple mission of turning the Sixers into winners.

Just not this season.

In the NBA, fans like to call down seasons ”tanking,” though the Sixers prefer to call the 2013-14 season simply the first step in a rebuilding process toward the franchise’s first championship since 1983.

Reported by Dan Gelston of the Associated Press

Some may see the Sixers’ recent addition of Tony Wroten and think to themselves, “great, another point guard that can’t shoot.”

Yes, Wroten is a point guard, and no he doesn’t shoot very well (46.1% TSP last season), but his acquisition means more than that for the franchise.

Wroten will provide a challenge for rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams in the form of competition. His addition also furthers the Sixers’ commitment to player development.

Instead of going out and adding an aged veteran to tutor MC-W as he adapts to the NBA game, the team opted for a player that is even younger than the 21-year old Williams, and one that also needs a lot of work but has a high ceiling. The two can now develop together.

Reported by Michael Kaskey-Blomain of the Philadelphia Daily News

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have acquired point guard Tony Wroten (ROH-ten) from Memphis in exchange for future draft considerations.

The Sixers are in rebuilding mode and should be in for a rough season. Lots of bench guys on this roster have a chance to contribute a bit more than might normally be expected of them. Still, Wroten isn’t likely to get serious minutes.

Wroten (6-6, 210) appeared in 35 regular season games as a rookie for the Grizzlies last season and also saw action in six games during Memphis’ run to the Western Conference Finals. Additionally, Wroten was the fifth youngest player in the NBA last season.

The 20-year-old was assigned to the Reno Bighorns of NBA Development League and appeared in a total of 11 D-League games with three starts, averaging 17.0 points, almost four assists, three rebounds and one steal in nearly 27 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 30 points in the season finale vs. the Canton Charge on April 6.

Wroten was originally the 25th overall pick by Memphis in the 2012 NBA Draft following his freshman season at the University of Washington. In his only season with the Huskies, Wroten averaged 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals and became the first freshman in school history to earn First Team All-Conference honors. He was also named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after setting numerous freshman school marks, including most points (559), assists (130) and steals (66).

A native of Seattle, Wroten attended Garfield High School which also produced former NBA All-Star Brandon Roy. His father, Tony, played football at Washington and his mother, Shirley, ran track at Washington and Arizona State. Wroten’s aunt, Joyce Walker, was a two-time All-American at Louisiana State and played for the Harlem Globetrotters. His cousin, Nate Robinson, plays for the Denver Nuggets.

The trade is pending the completion and passing of a physical.

In one of the first moves since he was hired as the 76ers coach, Brett Brown has decided not to retain the team’s assistant coaches.

He said Michael Curry, Aaron McKie and Jeff Capel will not be apart his coaching staff moving forward. The three assistants are holdovers from cDoug Collins’ staff, and are under contract for another season. It is unclear if they remain with the Sixers in another compacity or take a job elsewhere.

Curry was a candidate for the Sixers coaching job after Collins resigned on April 18.

“I’m doing that for obvious reasons,” said Brown, who was hired Monday. “I want to hire my own staff and have a clean start going in that direction. … I feel like it’s important that I come in with my own staff and start fresh and try to rebuild.”

Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Blog)

The 76ers will be far from the best team in the NBA this season. And in a way, that’s the plan.

What new coach Brett Brown has is a roster with a raw rookie in Michael Carter-Williams playing point guard and a lot of uncertainty at the other positions. There’s a thought that the team could trade Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner, or Spencer Hawes, the three players with the most trade value, for the right price.

But the three veterans were among the players who Brown raved about during Wednesday’s introductory news conference.

“I’ve always been a fan of Thaddeus,” Brown said. “I see in Evan just that potential. You see the versatility in Spencer. You pay attention to Michael Carter-Williams and what he did in college. . . . I think about with a healthy fit, Lavoy [Allen], what he can bring to the table.

“The pieces are there were we can build around them.”

Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Considering that they worked for nearly 4 months without knowing their long-term fate, what will another couple of weeks matter to Sixers assistant coaches Michael Curry, Aaron McKie and Jeff Capel?

Yesterday, after being announced as the franchise’s 24th head coach, former San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Brett Brown said he would like to have his staff assembled by September.

Whether Curry, McKie, Capel or any other member of former Sixers coach Doug Collins’ staff will be retained is to be decided.

“I’ve spoken to [Curry and McKie] in particular, and I will speak to others,” general manager Sam Hinkie said, “and I’ve told them the truth, which is everyone is open-minded and everyone will think about all of the possibilities. Then we’ll make some decisions. Those decisions will be what they are, but there is a process to be followed there.”

Reported by John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News

“I know a lot has been made about the process and the length of time that it took for the final decision to be made on who is going to coach the Philadelphia 76ers,” Brown said. “For me, it was a tremendous opportunity to research a job that I was very interested in. Having spent so much time in New England and in Boston, I am acutely aware of the proud history of this city and the competitiveness of this city and how the city respects and demands the same type of people that I do as a coach. You get excited to be a part of the rebuild. We all know that the pain of rebuilding is real. We all will experience it. It isn’t something that happens quickly. That is a fact; that is the truth. There needs to be a tolerance, there needs to be a patience. It became very clear that if I was going to leave a position like San Antonio and the fantastic organization and the people I have worked with for 13 years, that it had better be for the right [situation]. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Brown, 52, spent the past seven seasons on the bench next to head coach Gregg Popovich in San Antonio after 6 years prior in different positions. He is considered to be a teacher of the game, a gym rat, a coach’s son who can’t get enough of the game and thrives on teaching the styles and intangibles that were a necessary part of four title runs during his time with the Spurs…

“I’m not a gypsy coach. I like staying someplace. I like a commitment from both sides. Can you imagine if we can get this thing right? Really. If we can this right with the culture and the history that this city has, and the pride and the toughness that this city has, that is very luring. It’s tempting. There were times I wasn’t sure, based on what I had, if I wanted to chance it. I think this is a very high-calculated chance. It’s dangerous. Rebuild is always a very hard thing, but I feel just thrilled to be here. Now it’s putting the right people in the right places. There’s a lot of work to be done, but I’m just thrilled to be here.”

Reported by Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News

A person familiar with the negotiations says Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris will add the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and the lease to their arena to his portfolio Thursday.

Attorneys for both sides were putting the final touches on the deal Wednesday that would allow Jeff Vanderbeek to sell his majority ownership to Harris, said the person, who asked not to be identified because neither party had announced the deal.

Reported by the Associated Press

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have named Brett Brown as head coach. Brown joins the Sixers after spending the past seven seasons as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs under Gregg Popovich.

“We are proud to announce that Brett Brown will be the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers,” said Sixers President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Sam Hinkie. “We went through an exhaustive search to find the right head coach for our organization—one who had a passion for developing talent, a strong work-ethic to help create the kind of culture we hope for, and a desire to continually improve. Brett has all of that. He also has a wealth of experience as a head coach and a championship pedigree, to boot. We are delighted to welcome him as our coach, and I am invigorated for the two of us to roll up our sleeves and get to work.”

Brown originally joined the Spurs as a member of their basketball operations department in 1998-99 but left after the season to become the head coach of the Sydney Kings of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He re-joined the Spurs in July of 2002 as the team’s assistant coach/director of player development and was moved to the bench as an assistant coach prior to the 2006-07 season. Brown was with the Spurs for all four of their championships (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007).

“The San Antonio Spurs have been very fortunate to have the services of Brett Brown for over a decade,” said Popovich. “His creativity, teaching ability and work ethic are unmatched. I’m quite confident that the Sixers will benefit greatly from his presence.”

A native of Maine, Brown played at South Portland High School for his father Bob Brown, who is a New England Basketball Hall of Famer. The younger Brown went on to attend Boston University where he played under Rick Pitino. Brown was named team MVP his sophomore year and served as team captain his final two seasons, helping the Terriers reach the NCAA Tournament as a senior in 1983. For his career, Brown posted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.19 and left ranked fourth in school history in assists (404).

In addition to his time with the Spurs, Brown has a wealth of coaching experience in Australia, where he met and married his wife, Anna. He started as an assistant coach with the Melbourne Tigers under Lindsay Gaze, a member of both the Australian and FIBA Hall of Fame.

Brown was named head coach of the North Melbourne Giants in 1993 and earned NBL Coach of the Year honors in 1994 after leading the Giants to the National Championship. Including his return to the NBL for three seasons with the Sidney Kings in 1999, Brown amassed 149 career coaching victories, sixth-most in league history.

In March of 2009, Brown was named head coach of the Australian National Team. He had previously served as an assistant for eight years, including both the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games as well as the 1998 World Championships. Brown led Australia to the FIBA Oceania Championship over rival New Zealand in 2011 to secure a bid to the 2012 Olympics.

At the London games in 2012, Brown guided Australia to what many consider one of its best Olympic runs, culminating with a win over eventual bronze medalist Russia before being eliminated by Team USA in the quarterfinals. Overall, Australia compiled a 3-3 mark without the services of injured star Andrew Bogut.

Brown and his wife have two daughters, Julia and Laura, and a son, Sam.

For a while now, the Sixers haven’t had a happy roster, and for a number of good reasons. Doug Collins is a great basketball mind and an extremely talented coach, but he isn’t easy to play for. It takes a special kind of player, one extremely self-confident, motivated and ultra-competitive, to fully appreciate the way Collins does his job. Elton Brand was really the last guy on the team who fit that description. The other guys, including those on last season’s roster, withdrew from the challenge.

They need to hear a different voice and that’s what Brown seems ready to provide. He’s the perfect Sam Hinkie hire because he also brings added value for the price tag. Brown has loads of head coaching experience, in the Australian pro league and for the Aussie national team, but he was on the market as just another NBA assistant, which is where the Sixers were doing their shopping.

There is some risk involved for Brown in taking this job and he was in pretty good position to turn it down if he wanted to, so it’s likely the Sixers didn’t get that all much of a bargain. If the rumor is correct that Brown wouldn’t budge until all four years of his contract were guaranteed, that shows a steely side to a guy everyone describes as very likable. He’ll need that here.

Reported by Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer

With Brown now getting the job, it means that Michael Curry, who has overseen all on-court basketball activities since Collins’ departure, most likely will be looking for employment elsewhere. Curry was the associate head coach in each of Collins’ three seasons and had most recently coached the Sixers’ entry in the Orlando Pro Summer League last month. Curry, as well as assistants Jeff Capel and Aaron McKie, are all under contract for the upcoming season. While it seems likely that Brown will bring in his own coaching staff, it wouldn’t be surprising if McKie remained. The Temple product has been on staff here since 2007 and brings a knowledge and familiarity to the team and city that a new coach might covet.

“Brett was the good guy to Coach Pop’s [Popovich] bad guy a lot of times,” Rose said. “He was great at getting players to do what Pop wanted them to do, but delivered the message in a different way. He’s such a good guy. Manu [Ginobili] is a very intense guy, and Brett talked him off the ledge many times. He has a great way with players and with everybody. This is probably going to be a really good fit.”

Reported by Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News

Since Larry Brown left for Detroit after the 2002-03 season, the 76ers have tried seven different coaches to hold down the position. Seven coaches have been hired during the past 10 seasons, and seven have gone, from Randy Ayers to Doug Collins (with Chris Ford, Jim O’Brien, Maurice Cheeks, Tony DiLeo and Eddie Jordan in between). Cheeks lasted three seasons plus 23 games into a fourth. Collins had the second-longest tenure during that time, having stepped down in April after three seasons at the helm.

Yesterday, a source close to the situation confirmed to the Daily News that Brett Brown, who spent the past seven seasons on the bench as an assistant coach to Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, had reached an agreement in principle for a 4-year contract to become the eighth head coach in the past 11 seasons.

“He’s going to be a great coach, he’s really knowledgeable, has great energy, great vision at both ends of the court and a great way with players,” said Mike Budenholzer, who was an assistant with Brown in San Antonio before taking the Atlanta head coaching job in late May. “Players respect him. He’s demanding but they love him. He’s got a great sense of humor but he’s a great competitor, too. The competitive nature for Brett may be with his good nature, but he’s a tough, competitive dude and that’s more important to him than anything. In that city he’s a fit, because he’s blue-collar and he’s a tough dude. He’s a competitive person in every way, shape and form at every moment. At this level everyone is a competitor, but Brett has that extra level of competitiveness.”

Reported by Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News

The Philadelphia 76ers should be one of the league’s worst teams this upcoming season. The roster lacks talent. It’s packed with bench-level players. The greatest coach in the world could run the team next season and they’d still struggle. As a result, many coaches may hesitate before taking such a job.

Still, somebody’s got to do it.

Barring a snag in negotiations, Brett Brown will become the 76ers’ next head coach. The team has offered the job to the San Antonio Spurs assistant, according to sources. The two sides were working on a contract to bring the 52-year-old to Philadelphia.

If he accepts, Brown will become the team’s eighth head coach since Larry Brown resigned after the 2002-03 season.

The news comes as no surprise. Brett Brown for some time has been the candidate the Sixers coveted to replace Doug Collins, who resigned on April 18.

The New York Daily News reported during the June 27 NBA draft that the Sixers had decided to hire Brown. General manager Sam Hinkie later denied the report. Then on July 31, a league source told The Inquirer that Brown was the preferred candidate for the job.

Brown takes over a team that finished 34-48 this past season and appears to be seriously rebuilding.

Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Even if the team does struggle as expected, we’ll still be watching rookies Nerlens Noel (when healthy enough to play) and Michael Carter-Williams to see how they develop.

The Sixers continual coaching search might be coming to an end.

San Antonio Spurs assistant Brett Brown has been offered the Sixers head coaching position.

If he accepts, Brown, 52, will become the 24th head coach in franchise history, and will take over a team that has fully embraced a rebuilding phase.

While many are relieved that the team has finally selected someone to you know, coach the players, Brown remains relatively unknown to the average NBA fan.

His dexterity at player development was tagged as his calling-card throughout the Sixers search, but Brown brings a lot more than that to the Sixers’ bench.

Brown’s impressive basketball background began in high school. He attended South Portland High (in Maine) where he played for his father, New England Basketball Hall of Fame coach, Bob Brown.

Reported by Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com

Brown should bring a winning attitude to an organization expected to struggle. He learned from three premier coaches on three levels: his father, Bob Brown; Rick Pitino; and Gregg Popovich.

Brett Brown joined Popovich’s Spurs staff in July 2002 as an assistant coach/director of player development. He moved to the bench as an assistant coach before the 2006-07 season.

The Spurs have won three NBA titles during his tenure. They just missed out on a fourth, losing in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat in June.

Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer