These were the words of men who want a new boss.
Whether it's the lack of repercussions for chubby, gun-shy teammates, inefficient scheming, or uncertainty about what they're supposed to do, the Sixers didn't protect coach Brett Brown on Sunday evening after the hated Celtics swept them out of the first round of the NBA playoffs. He was fired Monday.
All-Star center Joel Embiid, free-agent gem Al Horford, and Josh Richardson, the fruit from the Jimmy Butler trade, had chances to endorse Brown, who was relieved of his duties with two years and $10 million left on his contract. None did. Instead, each criticized him, either directly or obliquely, speaking as if his dismissal was a fait accompli, knives flashing from under their senator robes.
Et tu, Joel?
"I wish we had found our identity, offensively or defensively," Embiid said. "I felt like the focus was not always there."
No identity? No focus? No coach.
Those are the coach's responsibilities. You might say they are his primary responsibilities. If players cannot attain the main objective because they're uninterested, then coaching completely failed.
Yes, the Sixers dealt with injuries all season, the most significant the recent knee surgery for Ben Simmons. But this was supposed to be a Sixers team of both great talent and respectable depth. The talent never jelled. The depth never surfaced.
The Process failed.
