Sunday could be the last day of both the Sixers' season and the Brett Brown era in Philadelphia.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, Brown likely won't survive a loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 7, and very well could be coaching for his job on Sunday night.
Per Stein:
The Sixers, meanwhile, will be swamped with what-next questions if they don't advance. Beyond the uncertain fates of Butler, Harris and the sharpshooting J.J. Redick, rumblings in league coaching circles have grown louder by the day that 76ers Coach Brett Brown needs an N.B.A. finals berth to keep his job. Brown, I'm told, has little chance of surviving a second-round exit.
No coach in Philadelphia has been on the job longer than Brown has, who was hired by the Sixers prior to the 2013 season and has been here for six seasons. Although he holds a 178-314 record as head coach of the Sixers, a large portion of those losses came during "The Process" era, when Brown's job was to develop talent, not win games. Over the last two seasons, the Sixers are 103-61 under Brown, making the playoffs both seasons and advancing to at least the second round.
After trading for both Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris this season, however, owner Joshua Harris made it clear that he wants to see the team advance further than they did last season to consider this year a success. To make that happen, the Sixers have to win on Sunday night.
If they don't? Big changes could be coming to the Sixers, and a new coach could be on the way.
You can follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
