76ers hire Brown as executive

PHILADELPHIA — Less than three weeks after Allen Iverson was traded, Larry Brown rejoined the Philadelphia 76ers, this time as an executive vice president instead of a coach.

The 76ers said early today that Brown would assist team President Billy King and the basketball operations department, and work on other special projects.

“Oh yeah, I think he’s very happy back in Philly,” said Brown’s agent, Joe Glass.

The move was expected after Philadelphia traded Iverson to Denver last month. The day after the deal was announced, King said he was talking to Brown about the possibility of rejoining the franchise he coached to the 2001 NBA Finals.

The 66-year-old Brown, fired by the Knicks in June after going 23-59 and clashing with team President Isiah Thomas in the Hall of Fame coach’s only season in New York, had been acting as an unofficial consultant to the 76ers this season.

Brown advised King on the Iverson trade.

Brown has been King’s mentor since he hired him as an assistant coach in Indiana. When Brown came to Philadelphia in 1997, he brought King with him as vice president of basketball administration. King was named team president after Brown resigned in 2003.