PHILADELPHIA — This was the afternoon of Sept. 15, 2016, and Brett Brown had, in his words, “left the gym an hour ago.” The gym was the 76ers’ headquarters in Camden, N.J., which would not officially open for another eight days. But around the court, the place was humming. Charles Barkley, Billy Cunningham and Jim O’Brien were watching a scrimmage from the sideline, and Brown could barely contain himself. Now, finally, he could envision a chance to do what he hadn’t done for the three years since the Sixers hired him. Now, finally, he could envision coaching a competitive basketball team — bec…
