Mr. Clutch
06-04-2003, 01:08 PM
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/basketball/nba/philadelphia_76ers/5999773.htm
"God put me through a test the last six years, guys," Brown said one
minute.
"I was there at practice on time, and even for the games," he'd say
the next.
Each jab - including some directed at Allen Iverson - provoked loud,
raucous laughter that would have pierced the basketball souls of any
Philadelphian who heard it.
"I know exactly why [God] put me on this earth," Brown, ever the
diplomat, said about the Sixers in general and Iverson in particular.
"Allen is like my son," he added. "There's going to be days you love
him, and there's going to be days you're going to have heartache. But
you still want to see him grow up and get better.
...
"I've never had final say," said Brown, forgetting his title as vice president of basketball operations during his six-year stint in Philadelphia. "I always wanted to have input. I don't know what my title was in Philly; I'm not sure."
Folks in Detroit are still shell-shocked by what transpired this weekend. Their former coach, the promising Rick Carlisle, is gone because he couldn't get along. A Hall of Famer is replacing him because, over the long haul, he can't sustain getting along anywhere.
What's worse, Brown departed for Detroit almost immediately after his team was ousted by the Pistons, prompting questions about how focused he may or may not have been during the conference semifinals.
"I don't know how to answer to that," Brown said when asked what he had to say to Philadelphians who questioned his commitment during that series now that he has departed. "You'd have to ask my players if I wasn't committed.
"God put me through a test the last six years, guys," Brown said one
minute.
"I was there at practice on time, and even for the games," he'd say
the next.
Each jab - including some directed at Allen Iverson - provoked loud,
raucous laughter that would have pierced the basketball souls of any
Philadelphian who heard it.
"I know exactly why [God] put me on this earth," Brown, ever the
diplomat, said about the Sixers in general and Iverson in particular.
"Allen is like my son," he added. "There's going to be days you love
him, and there's going to be days you're going to have heartache. But
you still want to see him grow up and get better.
...
"I've never had final say," said Brown, forgetting his title as vice president of basketball operations during his six-year stint in Philadelphia. "I always wanted to have input. I don't know what my title was in Philly; I'm not sure."
Folks in Detroit are still shell-shocked by what transpired this weekend. Their former coach, the promising Rick Carlisle, is gone because he couldn't get along. A Hall of Famer is replacing him because, over the long haul, he can't sustain getting along anywhere.
What's worse, Brown departed for Detroit almost immediately after his team was ousted by the Pistons, prompting questions about how focused he may or may not have been during the conference semifinals.
"I don't know how to answer to that," Brown said when asked what he had to say to Philadelphians who questioned his commitment during that series now that he has departed. "You'd have to ask my players if I wasn't committed.