Report: Brett Brown Played a Hand in Jimmy Butler’s Exit

A lot is looming over today's Sixers versus Celtics game. It could potentially be the end of the series and the end of an era in Philadelphia. The Sixers are likely to move on from Brett Brown as head coach at this season's end.

Reports came out this morning regarding coach Brown and former Sixer Jimmy Butler. Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer revealed that Brett Brown played a role that inevitably led to Butler's departure to Miami.

"According to multiple sources, Brett Brown had a hand in breaking that team up because he didn't want to deal with Jimmy Butler, who was the team's closer and who's never afraid to speak his mind"

It is no secret that Jimmy Butler has always been known as a player to speak his mind. That being said, this report could be the final nail in Brett Brown's coffin in Philadelphia.

Trading away Jimmy Butler has hurt the Sixers greatly hurt the Sixers this postseason. His ability to get to the line, close games, and be a perimeter scoring threat are all things the Sixers have needed in their series against Boston.

As we know the Sixers would go on to sign Al Horford as opposed to retaining Jimmy Butler. In their first postseason runs with their new teams, Butler is averaging 24.3 PPG and Horford is averaging 5.3 PPG.

Although this report looks bad on Brett Brown's part, he is not the only one to blame. The front office needs to be at fault for this situation as well.

They had a choice to make of retaining an All-Star level talent that they just used multiple assets to acquire or keep your head coach, they chose the latter. Jimmy Butler could have been the third piece to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons as they look to compete for championships and the front office passed on him for a coach they are likely to relieve in the coming weeks.

The Sixers have put themselves in quite the predicament, and cleaning house from top to bottom should be the start of a long road of salvaging the team.

Kevin McCormick is the 76ers insider for 97.3 ESPN and 76ers editor for Sportstalkphilly.com. Follow him on Twitter @KevinMcC973.