5 candidates to replace Nate McMillan as Pacers head coach

4. Brett Brown

Similar to McMillan, a four-game sweep (by the Boston Celtics in his case) in this year’s playoffs cost Brown his job in Philadelphia. Being the coach at the dawn of “The Process” skews his record (221-334 over seven seasons). But the 76ers have made three straight playoff appearances, with a series win in each of the first two and only a fortunate bounce for Kawhi Leonard keeping them from the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals.

It’s also not Brown’s fault he was progressively given a mismatched, ill-fitting roster by general manager Elton Brand. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons need shooting around them, plain and simple. Big contracts for Al Horford and Tobias Harris don’t look good, and with a h/t to Brad Botkin of CBS Sports here’s the list of capable shooters Brand has let go of.

J.J. Redick
Dario Saric
Robert Covington
Landry Shamet
Mikal Bridges
Marco Belinelli
Ersan Ilyasova

Brand is getting a chance to make it work with a new coach, and he has said he is not looking to trade Embiid or Simmons. Time will tell if the 76ers made the right choice by choosing the GM (with some front office changes?) over the head coach. But it’s always easier to fire the coach, and Brown paid the price for underachievement. But he should not be penalized for Brand’s mistakes, and other franchises should see a viable candidate.