(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.

(AP)

Jrue Holiday said it all day Wednesday. From a.m. shootaround to p.m. postgame, Holiday made it clear he wanted to stay in Philly and a contract extension prior to the midnight deadline was what he wanted.

Holiday got his wish.

"It’s Halloween. You never know what’ll happen," Holiday said.

According to multiple sources, including ESPN's Marc Stein, Holiday and the 76ers reached an accord last Wednesday night and just under the midnight cutoff. Stein is reporting that the extension for Holiday equates to four years, $41 million.

A source told the Daily Times the Sixers "made a deal right before the deadline." Specifics other than those reported by Stein were unknown.

Had the Sixers not gotten a deal done with Holiday, they would've had a chance to make a qualifying offer sheet for the fourth-year point guard after this season, but Holiday at the least would've been a restricted free agent. If he signed the offer sheet for the 2013-14 season, Holiday would've been an unrestricted free agent in 2014-15, and the Sixers certainly didn't want that.

“You know, honestly, I want what I want,” Holiday said, prior to the Sixers’ season opener with Denver.

Holiday had said all day Wednesday that he had a number in his head --- and what he wanted was reportedly near $14 million per season --- and that he wasn't willing to budge much. But he also expressed a desire to stay with the Sixers.

The deal, just under the deadline, accomplished that.

"There are two hours and 17 minutes left -- an eternity in the 'deal' business," Sixers owner Josh Harris told Daily Times columnist Jack McCaffery after the season-opening win.

(AP)

This is an excerpt from Daily Times columnist Jack McCaffery's blog:

With time running out for the Sixers to prevent point guard Jrue Holiday from becoming a restricted free agent at the end of the season, owner Josh Harris sounded something less than convinced that a deal would be done.

"It's a work in process," Harris said.

His gut?

"I don't want to speculate," he said. "I don't want to speculate."

The Sixers have until midnight Wednesday (into Thursday) to sign Holiday to an extension. If not, he would become a restricted free agent at season's end.

Before an 84-75 victory over the Denver Nuggets, Holiday assured that he would prefer to remain a Sixer. Reports are, though, that he wants as much as a $10 million a year raise from the $2.7 million he will earn this season.

The timing was favorable for Holiday, who was the difference Wednesday, making three important plays in the final four minutes to blunt a Denver rally. Without a replacement point guard of Holiday's skill and experience, the Sixers might not be able to afford his entry into free agency.

"The way we are going to approach all of this stuff is to try and make smart decisions," Harris said. "We really like Jrue. We would like to have him around. But I don't know what is going to happen. I hope it works out. But if not, he will be around certainly all season and hopefully beyond that. We'll have to see."

Said Harris, not long ago: "There are two hours and 17 minutes left, an eternity in the 'deal' business."

Check out my column on Holiday in the Daily Times Thursday and, as always, on delcotimes.com