76ers Dig Deep To Sign Brown

Larry Brown, a basketball vagabond who has won wherever he’s gone, has a new address and a salary to top that of any NBA coach.

Brown was hired Monday as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, his sixth NBA team, with full control of personnel decisions.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said the contract was worth close to $5 million annually over five years, making him the NBA’s highest salaried coach.

Brown resigned last week as coach of the Indiana Pacers.

The 76ers - who finished 22-60 this season and have not been to the playoffs in six years - were ready to pay his asking price.

“I’ve been overpaid my whole life,” said Brown, 56. “I’m doing something I love. I haven’t gone to work one day of my life.”

Brown’s salary is well above Miami’s Pat Riley and New Jersey’s John Calipari, who each earn $3 million a year.

But this hiring is certain to set the early leaguewide scale for the upcoming rush to fill several vacant coaching posts.

Pat Croce, the 76ers’ president and part owner, said “I’ve learned that experience is worth its weight in gold. We went after the gold standard of experience.”

That represents a big reversal for the 76ers. When he took over the club last year, Croce hired Brad Greenberg as general manager and Johnny Davis as coach - neither experienced in his job. Both were fired April 20.

Now Croce is going with a coach who has a long track record of improving teams, then moving on after a few years. Brown has a career coaching record of 1,030-648.