The Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers are squaring off in preseason play on Sunday afternoon, and Sixers head coach Brett Brown has nothing but respect for his Eastern Conference foe.
Brown told John Denton of NBA.com that he admires how the Magic have stuck with the process and current players in the pursuit of success:
“(Continuity) is a priceless gift,” Brown gushed. “If you’ve got the same coach and the large majority of the same players, you’re just so far out in front of things. It’s part of my challenge because we have expectations on our (76ers) program. We have talent, but it’s not like there’s an extreme amount of continuity.
“I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it now: Talent does not trump time,” Brown added. “You know, you need time and you want to expedite it and move it forward, but you need time. I respected the (Magic’s) organizational decision – which it obviously was – to persevere with the group that they have and coach that they have. Personally, I lived that life for 12 years in San Antonio. I have not lived it in Philadelphia, but it’s what we all aspire to ultimately find.”
Brown's comments are slightly confusing, in part because Magic coach Steve Clifford was in his first year with the team last season. Still, it is true that the Magic have retained many of their drafted players–such as Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac–over the years even when they have struggled to show significant growth.
The Magic also went against the grain when they re-signed both Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross in the offseason, bringing back two core pieces to the 2018-19 roster that made the playoffs.
In spite of Brown's attitude with respect to continuity, the Sixers indicated a clear desire to build around Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris this summer.
Philadelphia enters the 2019-20 season as a favorite to win the Eastern Conference, and Brown will be hoping that his group can gel into a legitimate title contender.
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