Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid React to Sixers Moving on From Brett Brown

Brett Brown is out. How are the Sixers' two young stars dealing with his absence?

It feels like an eternity since the Philadelphia 76ers moved on from head coach Brett Brown. A few months ago, following the Sixers' disappointing playoff performance down in the bubble, the team wasted no time deciding on Brown's future with the 76ers. As expected, he was fired after seven seasons.

Since then, we haven't heard a peep about it from Brown, Joel Embiid, or Ben Simmons. That changed on a Friday in early December. For the first time in their young NBA careers, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid will play with a different head coach.

When they both drafted in back to back seasons, Embiid and Simmons entered the organization with Brown as the head coach. Both players appreciated Brown as he was well-respected around the organization -- but ultimately, they understand that Brown couldn't last much longer as the Sixers failed to reach the Eastern Conference Finals after making the playoffs for three-straight seasons.

"This is a business," Embiid said on Friday through a virtual press conference. "You know, I love coach [Brett Brown]. At one point, probably two years ago, when we were starting to get going, I thought I was gonna have one coach for the rest of my career. Obviously, it didn't happen. But, He knows I care about him a lot."

Like Embiid, Simmons has tons of respect for his one and only NBA coach so far. However, the fourth-year All-Star understood the circumstances and looks forward to getting a different leader to take charge of the Sixers next season.

"You know, we're here to win," Simmons said on Friday. "So, whatever decisions are made to help us win, I'm for it. Obviously, I had a relationship with Brett -- [he's] been a great influence. He pushed me to motivate me."

"I'm excited for being able to be coached by Doc [Rivers]," the All-Star continued. "[Doc is] somebody who's won a championship and had those experiences and coached numerous talented players. Learning from somebody else is always great. I'm very excited to get started with that."  

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_