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