Go back to June, the 76ers near the end of their unsuccessful run against the Lakers in the Finals, Larry Brown on the stage after a practice.

	“	I'm going to miss Pat because he was everything good about our league. He brought great enthusiasm, he was fun to work with; he allowed me to coach. He let me do my job. But in terms of the relationship with me and Allen, he had nothing to do with that. If anything, I thought he hurt that. He interfered. ”
		— Larry Brown, 76ers coach

A man penning a tribute to Pat Croce asked Brown how he felt about being summoned into his boss' office along with Allen Iverson to settle their differences, like school boys summoned to the principal's office. Croce was widely acclaimed as a peacemaker after that one.

Yeah, Brown said, his relationship with Iverson improved afterward, but it was not a lightning bolt that did it. He went on to say that, frankly, he resented what Croce did.

Croce is gone, a meteor across the landscape of NBA history. And now the supposition is that the 76ers will self-destruct because Brown is left to his devices with Iverson, who is often difficult and requires special handling.

That theory excludes the steady hand of general manager Billy King and insults Brown, who is 61 and has a remarkable resume that includes 1,194 coaching victories -- 789 in the NBA, 229 in the ABA, 177 in the NCAA with a championship at Kansas.

Further, it insults Iverson, who did some very obvious growing up before our eyes last winter. Only a few days ago we learned Iverson bagged the controversial rap album that created such a stir last fall. Who knows if there was an ulterior motive. Fact is, it was offensive to many and it is gone, a victory for commissioner David Stern, for Croce who now works a little for NBC and for Brown who likes to think he has taught the little guy at least something.

Again, on Monday, Brown addressed the issue.

"Pat had nothing to do with Allen and me -- never had," Brown said. "The only argument I ever had with Pat was I thought he interfered with Allen and me -- and I think Allen said it [too]. I'm going to miss Pat because he was everything good about our league. He brought great enthusiasm, he was fun to work with; he allowed me to coach. He let me do my job. But in terms of the relationship with me and Allen, he had nothing to do with that. If anything, I thought he hurt that. He interfered. I don't think it was his place to get involved and I told him and that was over. We had a three-minute argument and it was over."

Certainly, Iverson bristled at the mention of Croce during media day venue Monday.

"A lot of that credit goes to myself and coach Brown as well," Iverson said. "People feel like Pat was the mediator in the whole thing, that he made us become tight like we are now. But coach and myself had a lot to do with that as well. Not saying that Pat didn't help -- he did, he helped a lot. Pat did a lot for this organization and people in Philly won't ever forget what Pat did for this organization. But I think a lot of that credit goes to coach Brown and myself, as well. You can't take anything away from us. Because somebody can tell you to do something, but it's up to you to respond the way you want to respond."

Brown isn't afraid to take on a player. Recall that in his first season with the Pacers he tried to get Reggie Miller to change his game, take the ball to the hole. Miller resisted. Brown kept at him, even though he was largely unsuccessful because he knew it was the right way to play.

Even knowing that he must get along with Iverson, Brown was very open with his opinion that the NBA's leading scorer took a pass on training camp by scheduling his elbow surgery Tuesday. After Iverson showed up with his right arm in a sling, Brown said, "I know Allen planned this. He's smarter than you think."

Iverson conceded that doctors told him a year ago that he needed surgery to remove loose pieces of bone from the elbow. He put it off and played so well and so hard he was the NBA's most valuable player, winning friends with his show of heart. "I bet you if we had a game tomorrow, he'd play," Brown said. Nobody can doubt it.

That said, Philadelphia is going to have a very hard time duplicating last season's 56 victories and finishing at the top of the East. The Sixers have trouble scoring and they have not addressed that. Regardless of what you think of Tyrone Hill, he gave Dikembe Mutombo secondary rebounding support and replacing Hill with Robert Traylor and Jerome Moiso doesn't answer that.

Can Philly count on Matt Geiger for starter minutes alongside Mutombo? His history says no.

The Sixers talked about moving point guard Eric Snow and could not get enough to make it worthwhile. What does that say for Snow's value?

Matt Harpring can help, but Harpring plays so hard his body breaks down.

So, where is this team going?

Toni Kukoc, who spent parts of two seasons displeasing Brown, says, "We didn't hit it off. I never understood it. He plays maybe six guys and they break down they play so many minutes."

In June, Kukoc was quoted in a Croatian newspaper as saying Brown would never win for that reason. Asked about that, he responded, "I don't know if I said that in such terms. I think last season it was a problem."

Kukoc was integral part of three championship teams in Chicago and if the Hawks are going to rise up from the lottery dead he and Theo Ratliff are going to be key players in Atlanta.

The Sixers were 42-14 with Kukoc, Ratliff and Nazr Mohammed on the roster. Would they have been better off taking the hit with Ratliff's February injury? Suppose they didn't make the Mutombo trade and they still dealt Hill with Mohammed stepping up to replace him.

OK, that's a tough second guess. This team did go five games for the championship.

But with Orlando and Toronto improved and Milwaukee lurking, this looks like a downgrade.

Jeffrey Denberg, who covers the NBA for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.