Philadelphia 76ers Fire Brett Brown After Being Swept By Boston Celtics In NBA Playoffs
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Brett Brown era in Philadelphia is officially over. The decision comes just one day after the Sixers were swept out of the Orlando bubble by the Boston Celtics in the first round.
Brown was hired on April 14, 2013, to guide the Sixers through "The Process" and survived through three general managers -- Sam Hinkie, Bryan Colangelo and Elton Brand.
"I have a tremendous level of respect for Brett both personally and professionally and appreciate all he's done for the 76ers organization and the City of Philadelphia," Brand said. "He did many positive things during his time here, developing young talent and helping position our team for three straight postseason appearances. Unfortunately, we fell well short of our goals this year and I believe it is best to go in a new direction. This will be an important offseason for us as we look to get back on track towards our goal of competing for an NBA championship."
In seven seasons under Brown, the Sixers had two 50-win seasons and three consecutive early playoff exits.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports Brand will continue to oversee basketball operations, but the team's front office is expected to undergo "significant evaluation."
This season, the Sixers entered with high expectations and hopes of reaching the NBA Finals. Instead, it was a disappointing season in which the Sixers finished 43-30 and earned the sixth seed in the playoffs.
"Right now my thoughts are really with the game, you know in the series that's just gone by. And that's really where my head is at," Brown said after the Sixers' 110-106 loss to the Celtics in Game 4 on Sunday.
After Sunday's loss, players were critical of Brown.
"We have got to have some more accountability. I don't think there was much accountability this season and I think that was part of our problem," said Josh Richardson.
According to reports, Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Tyronn Lue and Villanova head coach Jay Wright are believed to be candidates.
Brown finishes his Sixers coaching career with a 221-334 record in the regular season and a 12-13 record in the postseason.
Stay with CBSPhilly.com for this developing story.
