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Coach Brown not sad to see 76ers season end

Brett Brown was dressed straight out of a fashion magazine on Thursday. The 76ers coach wore a white-and-gray pin-striped shirt underneath a fitted dark plaid jacket that was paired with jeans and impeccably polished brown leather shoes.

Sixers head coach Brett Brown.
Sixers head coach Brett Brown.Read more(Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)

Brett Brown was dressed straight out of a fashion magazine on Thursday.

The 76ers coach wore a white-and-gray pin-striped shirt underneath a fitted dark plaid jacket that was paired with jeans and impeccably polished brown leather shoes.

But, from the neck up, Brown had the look of a worn out man, one who is relieved that his NBA season is over. And that was understandable.

The 2015-16 Sixers campaign had more subplots than a daytime soap opera or evening reality show, and few of them were good.

"It was a season of distraction," Brown said. "I concede that. You would not be telling the truth that every moment of your . . . day was dedicated to where it should have been, coaching basketball. There are many times that you do get pulled to the left or the right."

To combat the distractions, Brown always went back to his core values of having spirited practices, keeping the players together and educating them about the game.

"I'm so proud to say that our team stayed together," Brown said. "They truly stayed together."

The players admitted to being frustrated as the losses mounted in what concluded as a 10-72 season, the second-worst 82-game regular season record in NBA history. The 1972-73 Sixers hold the futility mark at 9-73.

Off the court, the Sixers had to deal with Jahlil Okafor's behavior incidents, the hiring of Jerry Colangelo as advisor and mentor to ownership and the uncertainty surrounding Sam Hinkie's job all before they posted their second victory of the season on Dec. 26.

Okafor was involved in two street fights in Boston, had a gun pointed at his head in Old City and drove 108 mph over the Ben Franklin Bridge.

Hinkie, who said he lost 20 pounds due to the stress of the season, ultimately resigned as general manager and president of basketball operations last week instead of taking a lesser roll with the franchise. Colangelo's son, Bryan, was officially announced as the team's president on Sunday.

The team's second victory was accompanied by the reacquisition of point guard Ish Smith and the hiring of Mike D'Antoni as associate head coach.

Jerry Colangelo also brought Elton Brand out of retirement to serve as a mentor to the young Sixers. Brand said he may return to retirement if he is not re-signed by a team for next season.

There was also a miscalculation by the Sixers that resulted in the loss of their best perimeter defender when a three-team trade fell through. The player, JaKarr Sampson, agreed to a two-year deal on Feb. 22 with the Denver Nuggets instead of waiting for the Sixers to resign him.

The Sixers had waived him on Feb. 18 so they could have a roster spot available to take part in the three-team trade with the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets. The deal would have brought Pistons reserve center Joel Anthony and a 2017 second-round pick to the Sixers.

The Sixers were going to cut Anthony once the deal became official. But it was voided hours after Sampson signed with the Nuggets because one of the other players involved failed his required physical.

During the tough times this season, Brown said he focused on his relationships with the players and the importance of communication.

"Some of those things are what grounded me this year and kept me on track," he said. "That was my own personal compass."

kpompey@phillynews.com

@PompeyOnSixers

www.philly.com/Sixersblog