The Philadelphia Sixers didn’t strategically ignore former head coach Larry Brown’s harsh stance against their rebuilding (tanking) plan.
Team CEO Scott O’Neill instead went on the offensive during a sports radio interview Thursday morning, taking shots at the 74-year old Hall of Fame coach’s struggles at SMU.
Call us crazy, but it may not be the greatest idea for a horrible team to besmirch its last successful bench boss.
Per CSN Philly (via (94-WIP):
”You know, after seeing Larry Brown’s SMU team in the Final Four this year it was tough to hear those kind of comments,” O’Neil said on the radio show. “Was he in the Final Four this year?”
“How are they doing? How are they gonna be this year?” O’Neil said. “Nah, you know, I think it’s hard for people not in the market to understand what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. I think the good thing about Philadelphia is that the fans certainly get it.”
In 1988-89, Brown coached the Spurs to a 21-61 season as they waited for David Robinson to fulfill his obligation in the U.S. Navy. When Brown and the Spurs got Robinson they went 111-53 over the next two seasons. […] Again, in 1997, Brown took over the rebuilding Sixers that went 22-60 with rookie Allen Iverson, turned the team into a contender and made an unforgettable run to the Finals. Subsequent rebuilding efforts in New York and Charlotte didn’t go as well, so maybe that’s what O’Neil was remembering.
