Tuesday night the Philadelphia 76ers promoted former D-League GM and NBA All-Star, Elton Brand to their vacant General Manager role. In the words of the great Pepper Brooks of ESPN 8 “The Ocho,” “That’s a bold strategy Cotton, let’s see how it pays off.” Yeah, I’m joking, but am I? When I first heard the news I was a little bit confused because even within their own organization, Elton seemed like a longshot, even if they were grooming him for this role at some point, it just didn’t seem like that point was now. So what do we make of this? Let’s check out some of the Pros and Cons:
Cons: I always like to start with the negatives so let’s get down to the obvious. Brand has essentially no experience in an NBA front office. Yes, he was the teams D-League GM and his role varied during his time post playing career, but nobody really knows how much he was involved in say trade discussions, contract extensions, scouting and exploring the salary cap. We see GM’s with loads of experience that fail in multiple aspects when taking the reigns of a new team. That to me is the most frightening part, at least from a public perspective, there is nothing to judge him on. Additionally, if we are being quite frank, Colangelo really made no blockbuster moves to note so even if he was around the NBA squad a lot how could he have even gained the necessary experience?
After the experience factor, the other major thing I worry about is his relationship with Brett Brown. Again, nobody knows exactly how much Brett Brown had to do with hiring Brand, but given previous statements made by Sixers owner Josh Harris, it’s not hard to conclude that Brown had a significant role in this hire. Now, some of you may ask, shouldn’t this be a positive? Executive and coach having a good relationship. The reason why this is a negative is two fold. First, did Brown recommend Brand because he thought that he could simply walk over him? If so, that’s a problem. Sure, Brown doesn’t give that vibe to people, but even subconsciously if he thinks he can supersede his boss that’s a major problem. I guess this comes down to who has final say. The second major issue is what if Brown needs to be fired at some point in the near future. I sure hope he doesn’t for everyone’s sake, but looking at things objectively, he got his clock cleaned vs Brad Stevens in the playoffs. We cut him some slack because it was his first time there as a head coach, but the slack should be gone at this point. The question becomes, does Brand have the guts to fire the man that A) got him a job at the top of a desirable NBA franchise and B) took him in as a player. I’m sure morally there would be a problem, and I hope it never gets to that point, but it could be a serious issue.
Pros: He’s not Bryan Colangelo. I was all for some fresh blood and Brand certainly could be that. Colangelo was revered when he was hired as a contrast to his predecessor, Sam Hinkie, because of his people skills. It’s also easy to wonder how many people actually considered him a good people person seeing as nobody stuck up for him after Burner Gate occurred. Brand should have a similar aura, although probably more justified in his case. Brand is well respected throughout the league, mainly with players, I guess we don’t know about with other agents and execs. Additionally, we’ve only heard positive things about Brand from people inside the Sixers organization, not that we should take everything they say that’s positive as truth but they could have elected to just say nothing. I have full confidence in his work ethic and drive, mainly based off his career and how he really outworked people. If he brings that same effort and work ethic into the front office then he should continue to grow into the job well.
We outlined previously how his relationship with Brown could be a negative at some point, but that relationship along with others he has developed within the front office should help him. The main guy may not be there, but there is some continuity with the rest of the staff, which should play to his strength. He will know who to lean on for cap help or scouting etc. By all accounts, he will use everyone and try to blend analytics with older methods in an effort to get as many perspectives on one decision as he can. He appears open minded which can benefit him, as long as he’s not open minded to the point where he is incapable of making a hard decision. But then again, we don’t even know if he has the final say to make that decision.
My Overall Opinion: I’m not thrilled with taking a guy that has pretty much no experience, former player or not. However, I’ve always liked the attitude and work ethic of Elton Brand. I also always thought he communicated with the media in a very mature and responsible way. I just don’t know if any of that qualifies him to be the GM at one of the most important times in franchise history. How many job opening have there ever been where there are legitimately two guys on the team that are potential top 10 players? Maybe even top 5. Maybe even top 3. The answer is probably never. While it may seem like an easy task with two potential studs, the key in today’s NBA is getting the 3rd guy and I don’t know if Brand has the savvy to pull off a move of that magnitude with his lack of experience.
I believe ownership did themselves a disservice by waiting so long and by essentially telling candidates the current staff would remain under the new GM. What kind of candidate is going to want a GM job where they can’t bring in their own people at top positions? Not many. I think that eliminated good candidates like Rockets assistant GM Gersan Rosas or Danny Ainge’s right hand man Mike Zarren.
Clearly my doubt are strong, but it does not mean I don’t have optimism and at least I genuinely like the person. But, for now really what I keep coming back to is, “It’s a bold strategy Cotton, let’s see if it pays off.
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