New Philadelphia 76ers general manager Elton Brand will collaborate with head coach Brett Brown to form a partnership that will handle basketball operations for the franchise. Brand impressed the front office and wooed them away from various inside and outside candidates to score the general manager position. Sixers co-owner Joe Harris says that Brand and Brown will be on the same leadership level in this partnership.
“Ultimately, Brett is the on-the-court voice,” Harris said, via Keith Pompey of The Inquirer. “Elton is the off-the-court voice. Elton will have kind of the loudest voice off the court, and final decision-making authority subject to ownership.”
Brand was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls. He spent time playing for the Sixers from 2008-20012. After leaving for a few years, he returned and served as a leader on the team's bench during the 2015-16 season. He retired for good shortly after.
In recent years, Brand has served as the vice president of basketball operations and general manager of the Sixers' G League team, the Delaware Blue Coats (formerly the Delaware 87ers). Brown has been the head coach of the Sixers since 2013, so their paths have crossed before.
“He's coached me before,” Brand said of Brown. “We've had lunches when I had nothing to do with the team, and I'd give him advice. He gives me advice. He's an advocate for me.”
After the disgraceful Twitter scandal the Sixers had to deal with because of last season's general manager, Bryan Colangelo, the team hopes this front-office effort will yield better results.
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