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PHILADELPHIA -- Brett Browns thick, New England accent wouldnt have fit well in Philadelphia when the 76ers and Dr. J were one of the NBAs elite teams, consistently battling Larry Birds Boston Celtics for Eastern Conference titles in the early 1980s. Those days are long over. The Sixers havent won it all since Julius Erving and Moses Malone led them to a championship 30 years. So, theyre turning to Brown to build them into a contender again. "To be here is surreal. I can still see Doc and George McGinnis and trying to take their photos (as a kid)," Brown said after he was hired to replace Doug Collins. The deal was completed earlier in the week, and Brown was officially introduced as the 24th head coach in franchise history on Wednesday. Brown is the eighth coach to lead the Sixers since Larry Brown left in 2003. Collins resigned in April after the Sixers went 34-48, a year after advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals. He led the Sixers to the playoffs his first two seasons and left with one year remaining on his original four-year deal. "We went through an exhaustive search to find the right head coach for our organization, one who had a passion for developing talent, a strong work ethic to help create the kind of culture we hope for, and a desire to continually improve," general manager Sam Hinkie said. "Brett has all of that. He also has a wealth of experience as a head coach and a championship pedigree, to boot. We are delighted to welcome him as our coach, and I am invigorated for the two of us to roll up our sleeves and get to work." The 52-year-old Brown was part of three NBA title teams with San Antonio as an assistant and won another with the Spurs when he served in the basketball operations department in 1998-99. He left after that season to become the head coach of the Sydney Kings of the Australian National Basketball League, but rejoined the Spurs in 2002 as the teams assistant coach/director of player development and was moved to the bench as an assistant under Gregg Popovich in 2006. Brown also coached the Australian mens national team from 2009-12, and played a key role in helping Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker develop into All-Stars with the Spurs. "If I was going to leave a situation like San Antonio, it better be for the right one," Brown said. "Its a privilege to be here." Brown inherits a team in total rebuilding mode. Hinkie, who was hired away from Houston, traded All-Star guard Jrue Holiday to New Orleans on draft night for the rights to Kentucky centre Nerlens Noel. Hinkie also drafted Syracuse point guard Michael Carter-Williams with the 11th overall pick in the first round. Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young and Spencer Hawes are Philadelphias main holdovers, giving Brown some talent to develop. "Ive always been a fan of Thaddeus. I see that potential in Evan. You pay attention to Spencer," Brown said. "The pieces that are in place are workable pieces. I look forward to working with them." Asked if he sees any star players on the roster, Brown said: "I dont know enough about the players to give an accurate answer." A year ago, the Sixers were coming off a first-round upset of top-seeded Chicago and were counting on going further in the playoffs after the acquisition of former All-Star centre Andrew Bynum. But things unraveled quickly, and Bynum never played a game in a Sixers uniform because of knee problems. Brown is used to a winning program at San Antonio, so hes not familiar with starting from the bottom. But the Sixers realize its not an overnight process and gave him a four-year contract to turn things around. "You get excited to be a part of the rebuild," Brown said. "We all know the pain of the rebuild is real. There needs to be patience. I have not been a part of a rebuild since I was in the NBA. The rebuild has to be keeping the locker room together." What type of offence will the Sixers have under Brown? That depends on the players and their ability, though Brown has his preference. "We want to go. We want to get out in the open court, and we want to run," he said. "Its easy to say, but its hard to run for 82 games. You have to have a tremendous fitness base." Brown expects his coaching staff in place by Sept. 1. It doesnt appear he has to be concerned with owner Josh Harris moving the team. There had been speculation that Harris may consider taking the team out of Philadelphia after his purchase of the NHLs New Jersey Devils is complete. But Hinkie dismissed that idea. 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But I have to control that beast more than anything.Newton and Norman squared off in practice as teammates the past four seasons before the Panthers (4-8) rescinded the franchise tag on him in April.Their competitive nature came to a head during the 2015 training camp when the two got into a scuffle. It happened after Norman intercepted a Newton pass and began returning it down the left sideline.Newton went after Norman in pursuit, harder than one would expect for the quarterback in a training camp practice. Norman responded by stiff-arming the franchise quarterback in the helmet.Both players wound up in a pile with teammates and ended with linebacker Thomas Davis shouting about how stupid the whole thing was.Both players later talked about how the incident brought them closer, but Newton said it wasnt worth revisiting this week.Its irrelevant right now, he said. I gain nothing, you gain nothing besides a meaty story leading up to [Monday]. A week after this, nobody will remember it. So next question.But Newton did talk about how he has to be smart against Norman, who often was paired against the oppositions best receiver at Carolina to take away half the field.His play last season earned him his first selection to the Pro Bowl.Josh, his competitive nature, thats his edge, Newton said. We all have something that another person may not bring to the table as much as we do, and Josh needs that. I realize that with me being around him for the four years he was here.He needs somebody to challenge him so he can get in the groove.Newton said he and Norman last year developed a competitive nature that went beyond practtice.dddddddddddd. It involved seeing who had the best hands in activities such as video games, cards and basketball.We just always competed, he said. Thats what you have to have as an athlete of that magnitude.But Newton, who has completed only 42.8 percent of his passes in the past four games and struggled to a season-low 37 percent in Sundays win against San Diego, said he cant let that competitive nature flow into the game.Youve just got to take what the defense gives you, go where the reads take you, said Newton, who was given a rare day off on Wednesday to rest his arm and body. With that given, having that smart mentality, smart not conservative, that will get me a long way.Carolina coach Ron Rivera agreed Newton has to resist the temptation to challenge Norman if the play isnt there. He also understands that temptation will be there.You want to play against the best and you want to have a good challenge, and thats what Josh is, he said. Josh is a tremendous challenge.That was the one thing about him last year for us: He loved that challenge. He loved us putting him on the best receiver on the team. He loved going up against the Odell Beckhams, guys like Dez [Bryant]. Julio Jones brought out the best in him. Likewise, he brought out the best in Julio.Carolina wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. said Monday will be a big game for Norman because its a chance to prove himself against his former team.The Panthers rescinded the franchise tag because general manager Dave Gettleman couldnt see a long-term deal happening and felt he could do more with the $13.95 million Norman was set to get.Whenever you go against your old team you get a little fire under you, Ginn said. Hes going to come out fiery. Hes going to play as hard as he can.Weve just got to match his intensity, no matter who hes checking. ' ' '