5 Things You Should Know About New Philadelphia 76ers Coach Brett Brown

5 Things To Know About Brett Brown

The Philadelphia 76ers were unconventional to say the least when it came to the process of hiring their new head coach. They went through the NBA Draft and the Orlando Summer League without a head coach. With less than two months until training camp, they finally have found their guy and hired Brett Brown.

Brown comes over as an assistant coach from the San Antonio Spurs and was given a four-year guaranteed contract, which is huge considering not much winning will be going on in the first year or two.

In order to lure Brown away from San Antonio, a guaranteed four-year contract was a must. We know that Brown has his work cut out for him in Philadelphia. This city has been desperate for a winner since the 2001 NBA Finals and fans thought they were going in the right direction. Two years ago, they came within one win of an appearance to the Eastern Conference Finals and reloaded last offseason by acquiring Andrew Bynum.

Many thought Bynum was the piece that would put the team over the top, but knee problems kept him out of the lineup and the team stumbled to a 34-48 record.

New general manager Sam Hinkie has decided to build a winner from the ground up by completely gutting the roster. The foundation is there with Nerlens Noel, Michael Carter-Williams and potentially two lottery picks in 2014. We also know that Brett Brown is the guy who is supposed to take them there for the next four years, but what else should Sixers fans know about their new guy?

Here are five things Sixers fans should know about their new head coach.

Zach Slotter is a contributor to Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @zslot6, Like his Facebook page and add him on Google.

5. He's an Incredibly Hard Worker

Brown played his college basketball at Boston University under Hall of Famer Rick Pitino. He came out of high school basketball in Maine (not exactly a basketball pipeline) and led BU to the NCAA Tournament. That passion and energy that drove him to succeed has carried over to his coaching career.

4. Disciple of Popovich

Say what you want about his people skills but Gregg Popovich is the longest tenured coach in the NBA for a reason. He has led the Spurs to four championships and Brown has been by his side in some capacity within the organization for all four. Anytime you can get a man who has worked under one of the best coaches in the history of the game, you know you are getting a high-caliber guy.

3. Background in Player Development

When Brown broke in with the Spurs full-time, his position was director of player development. He knows talent and he knows how to get the most out of players (see Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili). Combine his talents with the analytics of Hinkie and don’t be surprised if you see the Sixers developing plenty of second-round gems from the draft.

2. Head Coaching Experience

Fans might be reluctant to have a guy with no head-coaching experience lead their team, but they would be mistaken in this case. Brown was a head coach in the NBL in Australia for nine years and even won a National Championship and was named coach of the year in 1994. He was also the head coach of the Australian National team from 2009-2012, leading them to a title in the FIBA Oceania Championship and a seventh place finish in the 2012 Olympics. Brown brings plenty of experience to the table.

1. He is Here to Stay

Fans were excited with the hire of Doug Collins because of his track record for quickly turning around struggling teams. But the writing was on the wall that Collins never spends more than three years with a team because he gets too burned out. With a guaranteed four years, Brett Brown is your coach Sixers fans. He will be here and he will improve this team, if fans are patient.