76ers' Josh Richardson has Some Criticism for Brett Brown

Philadelphia 76ers starting guard Josh Richardson offered a blunt assessment about his 2019-2020 head coach, Brett Brown.

Coming from the Miami Heat's organization, Josh Richardson isn't familiar with holding back from speaking your mind. This season, with the Philadelphia 76ers, Richardson has noticed a bit of an accountability issue within the locker room and has spoken up about it in the past. On Sunday, after the Sixers' season ended with a fourth-straight loss against the Celtics, and Richardson brought up that accountability concern one last time.

This time, Richardson wasn't calling out his teammates, though. Instead, he was criticizing Philly's head coach, Brett Brown. "[Brett Brown] means well," Richardson said on Sunday. "I just think going forward, he's got to have some more accountability. I don't think there was much accountability this season, and I think that was part of our problem."

While Brett Brown is known to be a "player's guy," it seems that type of relationship with his players eventually became a negative as the Sixers had a handful of issues throughout the year that was never fixed. There have always been rumors that Brown doesn't necessarily hold his stars accountable, and Richardson's blunt assessment pretty much lines up with the speculation.

"It's got to start from scratch, it isn't going to be easy," Richardson said in terms of accountability within the locker room. "People aren't going to be comfortable, but that's what championship teams do. Guys not doing their job on or off the court, there's got to be some sort of, not consequences, but you got to be able to talk to each other and listen. It's a hard lesson to learn for some people, but in order for us to make this playoff run that we all want, it's got to start."

Soon, the Sixers could be getting a fresh start as Brown's job is reportedly on the line. After serving as the Sixers' head coach over the last seven seasons, it seems Brown's time in Philly is winding down as Philly requires a leader that can get them beyond the second round of the playoffs. While Brown was given a third opportunity to try and do so -- his third attempt was the worst yet as the Sixers got swept by Boston. 

The Sixers' current roster of players had nothing but good things to say about Brett Brown as a person, but Richardson's honest assessment regarding his coach is perhaps the most telling thing about Brown. Having a good relationship with players is necessary for a coach, but failing to hold them accountable for their mistakes is a big negative. And as the veteran guard said, players and coaches need to be held accountable from the jump. If not, then the issue never goes away. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_