The Philadelphia 76ers have their new general manager, and he’s a familiar face. Former 76er big man Elton Brand has been tasked with overseeing the roster of one of his former teams.
The 76ers announced the hire on Tuesday. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the team will make the move official at a press conference on Thursday.
The team’s general manager position has been open since this summer when former GM Brian Colangelo resigned when several Twitter accounts that discussed sensitive information about the team’s players were traced back to his wife. Colangelo never admitted to direct involvement, but he couldn’t survive his association to the scandal.
Brand has worked in the 76ers organization since retiring as a player in 2016. He played 17 seasons in the NBA, playing with Philadelphia from 2008-2012 and again before retiring in 2016.
New Era for Sixers
Brand takes over the 76ers one year after he was named the general manager of the team’s G League affiliate, the Delaware 87ers. This will be his first job as an NBA GM. Brand, 39, will be the league’s youngest active general manager.
He takes over one of the NBA’s most promising young rosters, led by emerging superstars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
Perhaps Brand’s biggest task will be extracting some production from guar Markelle Fultz, who the team drafted with the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Fultz was limited to just 14 games in a disappointing, injury-riddled rookie season. Fultz’ shot also became the focal point of much scrutiny throughout the year, with some questioning whether or not the guard could shoot the basketball adequately at the NBA level.
Championship-Ready Roster?
Fortunately for Brand, the team has done all of the rebuilding it plans to and he can oversee a roster that is expected to contend immediately rather than
The 76ers posted a 52-30 record last year, finishing third in the Eastern Conference and making the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
Sixers fans adopted the motto #TrustTheProcess as the team experienced several years of painful rebuilding that yielded the sort of draft picks the team was able to use on players like Embiid (3rd overall in 2014) and Simmons (first overall in 2016).
Years of toiling near the bottom of the league’s standings appear to have paid off, at least in the eyes of Las Vegas handicappers. The Westgate Las Vegas sportsbook gives the 76ers 14/1 odds to win this year’s NBA championship, good for sixth best in the league.
The five teams ahead are the Golden State Warriors (1/2 odds), Boston Celtics (5/1), Houston Rockets (15/2), Los Angeles Lakers (12/1), and Toronto Raptors (12/1).