76ers: JJ Redick Defends Brett Brown Once More After Firing

Former Philadelphia 76ers sharpshooter JJ Redick has admittedly always been a Brett Brown guy. "I will always pull for any Brett Brown coached team," the veteran guard stated back in December when he visited Philly for the first time since leaving.

In April, during the pandemic, Redick went as far as saying he would "love to play for Brett Brown again." Also, he mentioned that he didn't believe the disappointing 2019-2020 Sixers was a direct result of Brown's coaching.

Unfortunately for Brown, the Sixers didn't see it that way. After Philly lost four-straight round one playoff games against the Boston Celtics down in Orlando, Florida, the Sixers wasted no time getting rid of Brown.

In about 24 hours since the final loss of his Sixers career, Brown found out he would be looking for another job this offseason for the first time in seven years. And this week, one of Brown's former players (and one of his biggest fans) defended the now-former coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.

"I just want to say one thing, specifically. I Played for Brett for two years," Redick mentioned on his podcast 'The Old Man and the Three.' "I've got to say, both of them (Brown and Alvin Gentry) are two of the greatest humans I've been around in the NBA. Two of the greatest people, just incredible class acts, both of them. I feel very fortunate to have played for both of them."

"A seven-year run in Philly is crazy," Redick continued. "And especially given where that process started seven years ago. It speaks a little bit to the type of person he is, his acumen as a coach. I can't imagine, as a coach, going into that situation, knowing what the intention was -- trying to, essentially, get high draft picks."

Everybody knows the story about Brown's first seasons in Philly. When the former San Antonio Spurs assistant landed his first head coaching gig with the Sixers, the expectations were that Brown was going to coach up a team full of young no-names, which are set up to fail until the team is ready to compete again. At that point, many expected Brown to be replaced with a proven veteran.

Instead, the Sixers held onto Brown for three playoff appearances all in the last few years. Unfortunately, Brown couldn't achieve the ultimate goal of winning a championship. Therefore, the Sixers made the first of a handful of moves to come by firing Brown.

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