(Associated Press)

76ers coach Brett Brown spoke to reporters Wednesday, two days in advance of the team’s opening of training camp. Here are a few key items to take away from the first-year coach’s 35-minute presser:

• Keeping Noel involved. By most estimates, rookie center Nerlens Noel won’t be available to play until December at the earliest, while continuing rehab on the left knee in which Noel incurred an ACL tear back in February. So Brown said it’s his mission to keep Noel involved by inviting him on roadtrips, ensuring the Kentucky standout attends film sessions and practices and the like.
• Three are injured – already. Forwards Lavoy Allen and Arnett Moultrie and center Kwame Brown are hurt. Brown did not offer specificity of the injuries; neither did a team spokesman. The team’s training staff or Brown, after consultation with those trainers, are expected to offer more detail Friday at the team’s media day.
• Brown is kind of a gym rat. Most coaches like their players to be the first ones into the gym and the last ones to leave. The Sixers coach wants his guys to stay in the other kind of gym. Wednesday, Brown made it abundantly clear how much he values proper fitness and diet, and how those relate to staving off injury while extending the duration of careers. Read more here.
• Royce White is with the team. The second-year forward acquired from Houston is with the team and figures to be a part of the team’s training camp. “It’s exciting to see what could happen if the physical side of getting him in great shape can collide with his talents and all the other things that have gone on with Royce,” Brown said. “I really want to pay attention to Royce and give him a best shot to find a role on the team.” White missed all of his rookie season while battling anxiety issues and a fear of flying.

More to come from the Sixers in the coming days, as training camp opens Friday. Stay tuned.

Also, check out Jack McCaffery's column on Brown's challenges up ahead and his expectations for how quickly he can turn the Sixers, who are entering a low-pressure training camp, into a contender.