Philadelphia 76ers: Did Brett Brown just call out Glenn Robinson III?

After expressing disappointment with how his tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers has gone so far, Brett Brown had some interesting comments on Glenn Robinson III during his pregame press conference.

It must suck to be Brett Brown right now.

His two best players are hurt, his team is, by extension, playing really bad, and the entirety of the Philadelphia 76ers‘ fan base more or less wants to see him replaced with the college coach down the street (Jay Wright).

Needless to say, Brown is going to have to pay his bar tabs for the foreseeable future.

And to make matters worse, one of the team’s remaining players, a trade deadline acquisition no less, publically expresses displeasure with his role after seven games with his new (old) club. In an interview with Basketball Insiders’ Spencer Davies, GRIII lamented,

"“Even when (Golden State) played Philly, I showed them what I could do. So to play those consistent minutes a night and perform well… that’s the most disappointing part about coming here is that.“All those things play a role, and then when you come here and your role’s not really explained or you don’t know what’s going on with the trade — it’s not like it was a trade where you come in and immediately have an impact. It’s a little different, so … this team is full of wings, full of guys who can play. So really, I don’t really understand it. But it’s a business, you’ve got to make it happen and go out and try to do your best every night."

Disappointing? Harsh dude.

Now personally, I didn’t find this much of a story. I get GRIII being ‘disappointed’ with his role, as he went from an everyday starter with the woeful Golden State Warriors to an inconsistent contributor for the Sixers, but really, what can you expect? The Sixers have started five different starting lineups since Robinson came to town, as injuries and inconsistent play have effectively decimated the squad.

However, these otherwise inconsequential comments took on new light during Brett Brown’s pregame presser, where he kinda, sorta, took shots at his on-again, off-again small forward.

When asked about Robinson’s comments, Brown fired back, stating that not only were they not true, but that he gives each player a roadmap after the All-Star break that identifies their, well, role. He also made a point of differentiating being a starter on Western Conference’s worst team with being a role player on the Eastern Conference’s worst team (I’m kidding…). Shout out to Justin Grasso for the video.

Now as you can tell from the video, Brown is clearly not having the best go of it. He’s clearly frustrated with how this season has gone and does not need the external media tearing into his team any further (sorry), but I kind of doubt the inflammatory nature of his comments, if taken out of context, was really intentional.

Brown clearly values GRIII’s abilities, as he went on to start the 26-year-old Michigan alum against the New York Knicks in the second of back-to-backs.

Love him or (probably) hate him, Brett Brown is in the midst of the most challenging stretch of his professional coaching career. His team is bad, his team is hurt, and his organization may very well replace him unless things turn around in a fantastical way. When asked about less than flattering comments from a player during a press conference I get being a bit upset, but hopefully, it doesn’t distract from the task at hand: winning basketball games without two All-Stars.