WEBVTT - Summer Sixers | One-on-One with Brian Adams 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:03.680 This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers Podcast Network 0:00:04.040 --> 0:00:15.120 search seventy sixers podcast wherever you get your pods. This 0:00:15.360 --> 0:00:19.800 is the Summer Sixers miniseries from the seventy Sixers Podcast Network. 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:23.680 I'm Matt Murphy and on this episode, I go one 0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:27.600 on one with seventy Sixers assistant coach Brian Adams, the 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:35.720 head coach for this year's Summer League team. All right, 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:39.479 let's get started, Coach. With your previous experience as a 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:42.519 Summer League head coach with the Clippers as recently as 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:45.199 two years ago, what did you learn then that you 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:48.839 bring into the same role with this year's Sixers. Summer 0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:51.800 League is all about balancing kind of Everyone always thinks 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:53.640 when you're playing basketball it's about winning, and at the 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:56.360 end of the day, it is, but there's priorities. You know, 0:00:56.400 --> 0:00:59.360 you have guys fighting for opportunities that have been with 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:01.760 the team all year, and then you have guys that 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:04.080 you've just drafted that are going to be with the team, 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:05.920 and then you've got guys trying to make it. So 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:09.440 you know, the priority is more about putting people in 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:12.360 the right positions to succeed, and especially the guys that 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:15.440 we know, and we're really like, you know, you think 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:18.320 of a guy like Isaiah Joe or Tyrese Maxie or 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:20.360 Paul Reid, like, these are guys that we've had for 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:23.319 a year, and how can we create an opportunity for 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:25.800 them to be in the best position going forward? And 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:28.640 and yeah, as a coach, you know, your pride jumps 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:30.319 in as far as I want to win every game, 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:33.040 but at the same time, the priorities are more about 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:36.240 putting the guys in their best opportunities for them as 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:38.400 them as a whole. In the Sixers as an organization, 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:43.640 that balance of winning and development, it relates directly to 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:45.319 the G League in a lot of ways. And you've 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:47.800 been a G League head coach in your career, So 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:51.240 how does your G League experience help with balancing the 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:54.640 goal of winning versus the goal of player development? Yeah? No, 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:57.600 I mean, the G League is an amazing league, but 0:01:57.760 --> 0:02:00.880 it isn't always about winning, and you know, it's about 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:03.760 it's about development as far as and the biggest thing, 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:06.320 it's about development. When you think of development, you think 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:08.720 of development as far as this drill, that drill, But 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:11.040 a lot of development for these guys is getting the 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:14.040 reps in game reps and the live play. So that's 0:02:14.080 --> 0:02:16.280 kind of the biggest thing, is how can we kind 0:02:16.280 --> 0:02:18.680 of create a little shell of what Doc's doing with 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:21.720 the big team, make it so it's simple because we 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:23.079 don't have a lot of time to put it in, 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:25.560 and then put these guys in that shell so then 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:27.800 they can get the live game reps. And that's essentially 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:31.040 the g League right there, too, is just creating a 0:02:31.080 --> 0:02:33.360 mini version of what Doc's doing so that these guys 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:36.160 can get the live reps. And that's the development playing live. 0:02:37.200 --> 0:02:39.240 Let's talk about the roster a little bit. I know 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:42.840 it's early, but on paper and in the early stages 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:45.120 of getting the group together, what are some of the 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:48.640 strengths of this twenty twenty one six or summer league roster. 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:52.919 It starts with the guys we have coming back, Isaiah, 0:02:53.040 --> 0:02:57.440 Joe Tyrese, Maxie, Paul Reid, Rayjon Tucker. Those guys have 0:02:57.720 --> 0:02:59.520 been with us for a year and I've kind of 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:02.079 expressed to them that it's important for them to set 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:04.720 the tone. So all those guys, at some point in 0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:07.000 their careers so far have proven they can play in 0:03:07.040 --> 0:03:10.280 the NBA. They've all done it. Now it's about consistently 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:13.160 kind of putting themselves in an opera in a position 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:17.640 to maybe make a rotation or maybe help the team, 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:19.240 because at the end of the day, it's about how 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:22.160 can they impact winning? And so I'd say they're they're 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:24.400 a strength right off the bat. Anytime you have that 0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:27.040 many guys that have played a bit in the NBA 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.560 and have done a year, uh that that's that's a 0:03:29.560 --> 0:03:32.120 good strength. Then you have the rookie Jaden, you know, 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:35.000 and Jaden's trying to learn everything, but he's a young kid. 0:03:35.080 --> 0:03:38.400 He's talented. Um, so he enters the mix. I think 0:03:38.440 --> 0:03:41.760 anytime that you're a first round draft pick, obviously you 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:44.400 still have to perform and first round is just a label. 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:46.720 But you can tell he's a young kid that has 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:48.920 a good feel for basketball, and you know, he adds 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:51.520 a lot of talent. Uh. From the big man position, 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:55.200 we have Charles Bassie. He's a rim protecting role in 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:58.400 five that is very raw. So he's going to give 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:02.560 you a dynamic both at the rim offensively and defensively. 0:04:02.600 --> 0:04:06.400 That's going to be big Philip. He just got to us. 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:08.480 But he has the ability to stretch the floor at 0:04:08.480 --> 0:04:10.880 the five spots. So that's good. And I think we've 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:13.520 got a lot of hungry role players behind him that 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:16.200 know what it takes to to kind of chip away 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:18.320 and make it this league. And I think guys like 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:23.760 Frank Nation, they'll they'll really contribute to this thing. You 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:27.600 mentioned Tyrese, Maxie, how would you describe the experience four 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:30.919 players like Tyrese who come in with some pretty important 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:34.560 NBA minutes already under their belt in summer league. No, 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:38.200 it's huge, it's huge. And for Tyrese, he showed signs 0:04:38.200 --> 0:04:42.760 of being really consistent rotation player, but then at times 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:46.640 obviously certain things would happen and whether whether his performance 0:04:47.440 --> 0:04:49.800 led him maybe to not be in the rotation or not. 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:52.640 For him, it's all about establishing a way of plan 0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:55.520 that consistently can put him in the rotation. And for him, 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:57.920 that's you know, Kenny run a team at the point 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:00.800 guard position, you know, understanding our s. That's Kenny hound 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:03.880 the ball defensively and know our defensive schemes, and so 0:05:04.360 --> 0:05:06.880 you know, he's proven he can do it. Now it's 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:10.440 about adding to his repertoire so he can consistently do it. 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:14.320 You spoke after the first practice about areas of focus 0:05:14.360 --> 0:05:17.400 for some of the other returning sixers outside of Maxi, 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:21.920 so specifically Isaiah, Joe Paul Reid, and Rayjon Tucker. Can 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:25.520 you dive into what those areas are for those three players? Yeah, 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:28.920 for sure. So we'll start with Isaiah. Isaiah has proven 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:33.240 he's a shooter. With any shooter, they have to prove 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:35.320 that they can hit shots in games. And I think 0:05:35.760 --> 0:05:38.680 for him, he was thrusting in the rotation at different times, 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:40.920 whether it be COVID, whether it be trying to try 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:44.400 try another lookout when we're down guys and stuff, and 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:47.240 you know, when you're thrown in it's it's a way 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:51.640 different feeling than say, doing it with consistent playing time, 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:54.200 So making shots when it matters. So now he'll have 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:57.120 opportunity to be making shots because he's proven he's a 0:05:57.120 --> 0:05:59.600 shot maker, but can he do it in the situation 0:05:59.640 --> 0:06:03.000 like this? And he will be able to defensively, he 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:05.720 showed that he's a sneaky good defender. You don't think 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:08.359 of him maybe as a lockdown super athlete, but he 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:11.479 can defend so consistently defending. So you look at a 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:13.440 guy like him, you want him to be able to 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:15.760 make plays because of his shooting on offense and then 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:18.560 defensively be able to guard perimeter solid, you know, And 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:20.919 that's he can do all that. It's about, you know, 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:22.920 getting him to do it at a consistent level and 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:30.080 making the next step. And so that's Isaiah Paul. Paul 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:33.160 is a great opportunity. This is a great example of 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:35.880 somebody with an opportunity to kind of work on. We've 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:39.640 been preaching him his versatility. How versatile can he be? 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:42.039 In the G League? He played a ton of five. 0:06:42.640 --> 0:06:45.800 Five's good. The NBA's gone small, small ball five will 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:48.560 be there and he'll have an opportunity. But you look 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:51.479 at Paul, he's around six to nine, he's a super athlete. 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:54.159 Can he be versatile? Can he play the perimeter spot 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:57.560 from an offensive standpoint? And then can he defend different 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:00.680 positions both from a one on one inspective? But in 0:07:00.720 --> 0:07:02.920 the scheme it takes because the scheme at the five 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:05.200 is different than the scheme on the perimeter, you know. 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:12.200 So that's that talk. Is another one. Tuck is a pitball, 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:18.000 blunt force, trauma in your face, attacking downhill player, and 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:20.760 he's three and d. We need him to be able 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:23.760 to consistently hit the three more and then play within 0:07:23.800 --> 0:07:28.200 the system at times, know our stuff, and then defensively 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:35.720 sometimes his ability to play just freakish athletic defense. Still 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:40.160 do that, but within our schemes. You've touched on some 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:45.400 of the rookies individually, But what's some of the overarching 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:50.560 messaging to the sixers rookies you now, you mean like 0:07:50.640 --> 0:07:53.480 Jaden and Charles, you mean the second year group, the 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:56.600 group of true rookies. I know, it's the first summer 0:07:56.640 --> 0:07:58.320 league for a lot of you know what it is. 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:02.040 It's the biggest thing for all rookies, and especially these guys. 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.880 It's to kind of learn the NBA is much more. 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:08.560 It's a different system than they've ever experienced, and every 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:10.960 team around the league has a different system. But at 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:12.800 the end of the day, the NBA game is way 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:16.920 different than the college game, and you have to be 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:21.080 able to adjust to offensive schemes, you know, a bigger 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:25.480 playbook usually than college more kind of changing on the fly, 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:29.440 a bigger defensive scheme playbook, and you've got to be 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:33.480 able to do certain things versus certain offensive players. So 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:37.240 understanding the way the NBA game is played, and then 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:39.600 whether they were going to us or any team around 0:08:39.600 --> 0:08:43.360 the league. One of the biggest things learning our terminology 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:47.480 and your career specifically. You've been around Doc Rivers for 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:49.880 a long time, even with the two thousand and eight 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:52.800 Celtics championship team. What are some of the things that 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:55.920 you've learned from coach Rivers that you consider in your 0:08:55.920 --> 0:08:58.600 own approach. Since I've worked in the NBA, the only 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:01.520 coach I've worked under is Doc, And you know Doc 0:09:01.640 --> 0:09:05.680 is Doc is huge as far as holding players accountable, 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:08.280 and he's going to tell them what he wants and 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:10.760 then when they don't do it, or if they do it, 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:12.480 he's going to let them know and he's going to 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:14.120 hold them to it in order to get them to 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:15.920 do it the way it needs to be to win. 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:20.680 And Doc's only about winning, and sometimes it's not what's 0:09:20.720 --> 0:09:23.080 best for you as an individual, it's what's best for 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:26.440 the team. And Doc is great about meshing that together 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:29.120 and getting everybody on board. And some people might not 0:09:29.280 --> 0:09:32.160 like it, but you have to understand it's about the team, 0:09:32.440 --> 0:09:35.040 and it's about the team over the individual, and Doc's 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:37.440 huge on that. And one thing I've tried to use 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:40.760 that here is that while all these guys have dreams, 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:43.560 and they need to have these dreams. They need to 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:47.240 be motivated by goals. At the same time, they have 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:49.720 to get over themselves when they're playing a team sport. 0:09:49.880 --> 0:09:52.800 Doc always says, Basketball's not tennis, it's not swimming. It's 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:55.400 a team sport. And so you know, getting them to 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:58.400 understand that while they have individual goals, in order to 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:00.160 reach those goals, you have to play within a team. 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:04.920 To me, that's just Doc's messaging all over. Last one, 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:09.040 pine Planes, New York. Tell us a little more about 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:11.880 where you grew up and how your basketball journey began. 0:10:12.600 --> 0:10:15.160 Pine Planes, mid State, New York. I say mid state 0:10:15.160 --> 0:10:19.120 because it's not up there by Syracuse, small town, small town, 0:10:20.600 --> 0:10:23.840 Duchess County, New York. Not a lot of things going 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:26.960 on in pine Planes growing up. I love sports. I 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:30.600 love sports, and I love basketball because you didn't need 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:32.600 anybody to play with. You could just have the ball, 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:35.560 hoop and you could go. So I loved playing hoop 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:39.160 when I was in high school. I wasn't the best player, 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:40.720 but I was obsessed with the game and I had 0:10:40.720 --> 0:10:42.680 a great high school coach, and it was there that 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:47.199 I remember thinking, man, I really liked the idea of coaching, 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:51.520 between the teaching and the psychology of it. So I 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:53.720 always knew pretty quickly that I wanted to do that. 0:10:54.360 --> 0:10:56.880 When I was in college, I went I was a 0:10:56.880 --> 0:10:59.400 good runner actually in high school, and so I was 0:10:59.440 --> 0:11:03.840 recruited run and I am going to University New Hampshire 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:06.800 to run, and then transferred to Connecticut College, a small 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:09.840 D three school, and at both places I helped out 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:13.840 with the basketball team, but I was sadly more talented 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:15.760 at the running, so I kind of I kind of 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:17.800 used that as the skill I worked on while trying 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:19.840 to be involved with basketball, and then I was able 0:11:19.840 --> 0:11:24.080 to get a basketball operations internship with the Knicks. From 0:11:24.120 --> 0:11:28.079 there video coordinating internship with the Celtics, and that's where 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:30.320 I hooked on with Doc and it was with him 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:33.920 all the way until I ended up going to Harvard 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:36.839 to work with Tommy Amaker, which was awesome, amazing experience. 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:39.920 One year at Maris College, oh yeah, I got a 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:43.120 merits guy in the room. One year at Merris College 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:45.040 under Jeff Bauer, and then it was able to relink 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:48.480 with Doc out in LA as both video coordinator and 0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:51.000 coaching associate, and that kind of I grew from that 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:53.559 to the G league's G League head coach, and then 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:57.000 to this role now great stuff. He is seventy six 0:11:57.160 --> 0:12:01.480 Ers assistant coach, Brian Adams coach. Thanks the time, Thank you, 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:06.839 thanks again to Brian Adams. And if you're wondering who's 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:11.400 next in our Summer Sixers series, that would be Isaiah Joe. 0:12:12.360 --> 0:12:15.400 Be on the lookout for Lauren Rosen's interview with Isaiah, 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:18.600 and also be sure to search for and follow the 0:12:18.720 --> 0:12:22.480 Scoop from the seventy six Ers podcast network for daily 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:26.120 five minute updates on Summer League. Just search seventy six 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:29.800 Ers Scoop. I'm Matt Murphy. Thanks for listening.