Brett Brown on juggling minutes for Embiid, Okafor: 'I need an abacus'
As far as NBA coaching jobs go, Brett Brown's has never been a particularly enviable one. And, though there are signs of sunnier days to come for his Philadelphia 76ers - who are finally starting to look like a semi-competent NBA team - Brown has seemingly swapped existential crises for logistical ones.
His patience may not be tried quite as much as it was during last season's 10-win calamity, but Brown is now tasked with finding minutes and roles for a posse of 22-and-under bigs in a clown car of a frontcourt.
The biggest challenge has been juggling the minutes of Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor, the Sixers' No. 3 overall picks from the 2014 and 2015 drafts, respectively. Both need time and space to develop, but both are centers, and both have been limited thanks to recent injuries and surgeries.
"If you went into my office, you would see it is a Rubik's Cube," Brown said of his minutes plan for Embiid and Okafor, according to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "I need an abacus."
The good news is Embiid has come as advertised, despite missing his first two seasons to recurrent foot issues, and hasn't seemed to suffer under an increased workload as the Sixers have slowly raised his minutes ceiling. Through three games, he's averaging 17.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks, which translates to an obscene 29.7, 10.9, and 4.6 per 36 minutes.
"We all see different things every time he plays," Brown said.
"Him trailing and hitting the 3-point shot and in the second ... him up-faking and taking one dribble and making a move a guard would make to get to the rim. ... We look forward to when we have more minutes available for him."
The Sixers have reportedly tried to move Okafor to free up their "silly" logjam at center, but unless they find the right deal for their enigmatic sophomore, Brown will have to find creative solutions. That will mean staggering Embiid and Okafor's minutes, but ultimately, Brown says, also finding ways to have the two play next to each other.
"You just feel like it is cookie-cutter stuff," Brown said. "It is a very rigid road map and that is OK. Nobody is crying about it. It is a challenge."