NBA
Elton Brand Promoted To 76ers General Manager
The Philadelphia 76ers have promoted former player Elton Brand to General Manager on Tuesday (via Adrian Wojnarowski). The 76ers have been looking for a new GM since last June when Bryan Colangelo resigned from his position. Brand beat out other candidates such as Golden State Warriors Assistant GM Larry Harris, Houston Rockets vice president Gersson Rosas, and other internal options.
Brand is a 16-year NBA veteran who was the first overall pick by the Chicago Bulls in the 1999 Draft. He had a stint with the Clippers before signing a massive 5yr/$82 million contract with the 76ers in 2008. Brand would retire from basketball in 2016, where he started working his way up the 76ers front office ranks. Last season, Brand served as the GM of the Sixers G-League affiliate in Delaware.
Completing the Process
There were plenty of better qualified candidates for this position, however the Sixers picked Brand. Brand is only 39, and doesn’t have half the experience some people had. However, the 76ers find it important to keep the chemistry strong within the front office. The organization did not want to bring in someone from another team that would mess up their plans. Furthermore, Brand has been impressive with his work ethic and is being rewarded.
The 76ers finished last season with 52 wins and an Eastern Conference Semifinals appearance. The team is coming together nicely after years of tanking. Center Joel Embiid made his first all-star game, and Ben Simmons won Rookie of the Year. The challenge for Brand is to surround this young talent with the pieces to win a championship.
Final Thoughts
This will turn out to be an excellent move by the 76ers in the near future. As long as Brand can adapt to his role, which he has shown the ability to in the past, then this could be a huge advantage. Many General Managers in the league are Ivy League college kids who never played basketball past the 8th grade. On the other hand, Brand is a well respected veteran who retired only 2 years ago. He has many connections to current NBA players, and will use these connections in free-agency. He also has a better chance of relating to players since he was once a player. This move is a undoubtedly a catalyst to their run at 2019 free agents Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant.
Photo credit to Daniel/Dan Eidsmoe via Flickr
