Spurs' assistant coach Brett Brown will become 76ers head coach

Spurs assistant coach Brett Brown is accepting the head coaching position with the Philadelphia 76ers, reports Ian Thomsen from Spurs Illustrated.

Brett Brown has been hired as coach of 76ers says league source. 4 yrs guaranteed. Story up on http://t.co/XH8uCfQTFG soon.

— Ian Thomsen (@SI_IanThomsen) August 12, 2013

The signing has not been made official yet but USA Today also reported the story.

Brown will follow the footsteps of former Spurs head assistant coach Mike Budenholzer, who was signed before the end of last season to take over as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks.

It seems the premature reports about Brown being in the lead for the Sixers job turned out to be correct, after all. New Sixer GM Sam Hinkie is trying to rebuild the franchise after some years of enjoying moderate success (or being mired in mediocrity, depending on how you look at it) and taking a chance on a relatively inexperienced head coach with a good pedigree fits that plan. There were reports that people close to the former coach of the Australian men's national team were urging him to decline the offer, concerned about the lack of talent Philadelphia will have next season but the long term contract likely quieted those voices.

With Jim Boylen leaving the Indiana Pacers to join the Spurs' coaching staff, Brown's place with the Spurs was unclear and it didn't seem like he was the heir apparent to Gregg Popovich. So passing up a concrete opportunity to be a head coach right now must have been hard to do, especially with Pop not looking to retire anytime soon. The Spurs will now have to rebuild their assistant coaching staff, with Ime Udoka surely taking on a bigger role and the aforementioned Boylen likely becoming the new head assistant coach.

Brown will have a lot of work ahead of him, replacing Doug Collins and trying to bring the Sixers back to prominence. The trades that sent out Andre Iguodala and Jrue Holiday (and even previous moves like Elton Brand being waived via the amnesty clause) already made it clear that the Sixers were in full-on rebuilding mode. Brown will be tasked with developing the young players that have joined the team recently, including 2013 lottery picks Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams, while establishing a culture of professionalism on a team that will surely lose a lot in the next couple of years. His background as a good developmental coach surely played a part in his hiring.

We wish the best of luck to coach Brown and will follow his career closely.

For 76ers fans perspective, visit Liberty Ballers