The Philadelphia 76ers have gone to great lengths to ensure that the 2013-14 NBA season will be one marked by new beginnings—good, bad and ugly alike.
Doug Collins, their head coach for the last three years, is gone, replaced by former San Antonio Spurs assistant Brett Brown.
Tony DiLeo, the general manager charged with cleaning up Rod Thorn's mess in the wake of the disastrous Andrew Bynum trade, gave way to Houston Rockets wunderkind Sam Hinkie. It was Hinkie who, with the support of the Sixers' new(ish) ownership, set about on a roster reset this past summer, with Jrue Holiday's move to the New Orleans Pelicans the opening salvo.
That blockbuster draft-day trade netted Philly a pair of first-round picks, including Nerlens Noel, the sixth player taken in the 2013 class. Brown has already gone out of his way to temper the expectations placed upon the young pivot, who's still recovering from a knee injury suffered last year while at the University of Kentucky.
As Brown recently told Christopher A. Vito of the Delaware County Daily Times, “I doubt, everybody doubts (Noel) is going to p ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Josh Martin
Philadelphia 76ers Smart to Play It Slow with Nerlens Noel
October 22nd, 2013 by Josh Martin Leave a reply »
Advertisement