Sixers' Brett Brown Cannot Attend Practices For Time Being

When the Sixers manage to open up their practice facility for individual player workouts, the team's head coach Brett Brown will not have the opportunity to participate until further notice.

Justin Grasso | May 7, 2020

On Friday, the NBA will grant permission to teams in states that have eased up on the stay-at-home orders to open up practice facilities so players can partake in individual workouts. Although the Sixers, who practice in New Jersey, won't have the opportunity to make their facility available by Friday, the team's General Manager Elton Brand is hopeful to get players back to work sometime soon.

When that opportunity finally comes, though, the Sixers will have to abide by the NBA's strict temporary practice guidelines. As of Wednesday, the NBA has decided to notify teams that when practice facilities begin opening on May 8th, head coaches will not be able to observe or participate in workouts, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Therefore, if the Sixers get back to practice within the next few weeks or so, head coach Brett Brown will only know what's going on with his players through word of mouth. Per Wojnarowski, each NBA club can only assign six assistant coaches or player development personnel to 'supervise' players at the facility.

Also, there are only four players allowed in each facility at a time. In addition to the limited amount of player and coaching personnel, players are instructed to only work out by themselves as all team-related activities are forbidden for the time being.

When will Brett Brown have the opportunity to get back to coaching his team? It's unclear at the moment. As the NBA slowly eases back to normalcy, it seems it's going to be a process that requires tons of patience -- especially for the Sixers, who do not have permission from New Jersey to open the Camden facility at this time.

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

Published May 7, 2020

JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA