Bruce Bowen is no Longer Invited to Sixers Meetings

Former Spurs player Bruce Bowen recently told a story about a time he spoke to the Sixers, which Elton Brand did not appreciate.

Despite being knocked out of the 2020 NBA Playoffs, the Sixers are still talked about plenty in the media, primarily because they are the latest franchise to fire their head coach. After spending seven seasons as Philly's head coach, Brett Brown's stint ended on Monday afternoon officially as the Sixers were on their way back to Philly.

Some believed the move was right -- others believe Brown is a scapegoat for the organization. Former San Antonio Spurs player Bruce Bowen is a part of the latter. On Tuesday morning, Bowen brought plenty of attention to himself as he discussed Brown and the Sixers on ESPN's Get Up.

During his segment, Bowen mentioned, in defense of Brown, that Philly's superstars need to start taking accountability for their mistakes. Then Bowen went as far as revealing a story about a time he addressed the 76ers during a team meeting, as requested by Brett Brown. During that meeting, Bowen got a sense that one player didn't take it well. That player happened to be Joel Embiid.

"I said 'you guys have to understand it's so much about the right now,'" Bowen stated as he recalled his meeting with the Sixers. "You have to play as if there is no tomorrow because you are not guaranteed to get anywhere. After that conversation, I told them, 'stay out of the media -- stop tweeting so much.' And you know the one individual who had a problem with the whole meeting? It was Joel Embiid because he felt like he was being chastised for the things he had been saying."

Bowen's ESPN segment caused quite the uproar on social media as Sixers fans came to Joel Embiid's defense. Eventually, Sixers General Manager Elton Brand weighed in on the situation as well. As the former Spurs forward accused Embiid of having a lack of accountability over time, Brand set the record straight.

"Joel Embiid is growing as a player and as a person," Brand mentioned. "I think he's in a great spot, the way he led during this restart in this bubble. You don't get to see the behind the scenes, but he was at every meeting he was spearheading team events, and he was pushing to do a lot better. He wants to win, and he wants to be in Philadelphia."

As far as Bruce Bowen goes, Brand clearly didn't appreciate his comments. "So, you know, regarding Bruce Bowen, I really don't know what he's talking about," the Sixers GM continued. "Usually, when you're asked to speak at a meeting for a team, you don't go and talk about it on ESPN. So I'm sure he won't be invited back to team meetings."

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