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Elton Brand says they will build around their young core (Joel and Ben)

“We failed. It’s not acceptable. Brett is a great friend and will always be family. He will be missed. We felt it was time for a new voice”

Elton Brand says he wants to compliment his stars not move them

“I’m not looking to trade Ben or Joel. They want to be here and I want them to be here”

“Joel Embiid is growing as a player and person. Joel wants to win”

Quote (Red Sox @ Aug 25 2020 01:12pm)

"Elton Brand on Sixers front office changes, said they are 'strong in a strategic & analytic standpoint,' as many people know.

But that 'getting some more basketball minds in here' is something he will be looking at.

"All options are open."

Elton Brand on his role in PHI head coaching search: "To be clear & frank, we feel that the collaboration days didn’t work too well, so I will be leading the search...I’m looking forward to putting my stamp on this thing & take full accountability for whatever happens next.”


I would love to know who exactly the Al Horford contract is on. Brett or Elton? He is saying their "collaboration days" didn't work...well shit it sounds like he's going to be doing practically everything himself now.

Who tf knows

Quote (Sixers @ Aug 25 2020 01:15pm)

I'm pretty sure BB had a huge say in bringing Horford in.

Brand is a smart guy, he knows the game, he knows players, he knows a lot of people around the league, he's well respected and well spoken. I actually like him and i'm glad he will be given more of an opportunity to run things himself this time.

Quote (ShampooMonK @ Aug 25 2020 05:10pm)

Jesus Christ DM, let's be real dude. Really? Brand may have been a puppet, but it's funny to me that you really think BB had a huge say in bringing in Horford...

Because if he did, he 100% didn't know how to use him.

Literally anyone with any degree of management experience will tell you consensus-based decision making doesn’t work in high performing businesses.

This is my problem with Brand.

So you're literally trusting a guy who hasn’t done anything to be trusted to make another long term decisions? Either he fucked up or wasn't good enough to be trusted in the first place? And if things don’t work within the next coach’s contract, we just waste time and fire everyone years down the line?

This all sounds like they’re wasting time with Joel and Ben tbh. Brand has to literally do everything now (supposedly) even though he has absolutely no experience.

Quote (Sixers @ Aug 25 2020 06:04pm)

Brett Brown had more say in decisions than Brand did, period.

That was no secret, the organizational structure was all over the place, but by title Brand was GM but did he actually have the final say on things? Did he actually make the call on signings? His voice was heard, but not enough and that much is well known.

BB was to blame for a LOT of things, not just coaching players in games. Let's just leave it at that.

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Brett Brown had more say in decisions than Brand did, period.

That was no secret, the organizational structure was all over the place, but by title Brand was GM but did he actually have the final say on things? Did he actually make the call on signings? His voice was heard, but not enough and that much is well known.

BB was to blame for a LOT of things, not just coaching players in games. Not only was Brett's coaching really awful, but his decision making with personnel and the players he supported to be signed (or told to walk AKA Butler) was questionable as well. Head coaching jobs don't last long in the NBA in most cases, aside from the few unicorns around the league. Let alone a guy that has as much say in the front office as BB did, which puts even more pressure (and blame) on him when things don't work out. There was NO question Brett had to go, but Brand still deserves an opportunity to actually make decisions himself and build this himself.

Quote (ShampooMonK @ Aug 25 2020 06:07pm)

Brand was a great player, but if you think he's going to actually help make smart 'decisions,' for your franchise with almost zero experience, then good luck with that. Also hiring Tyron Lue would be a mistake, but to each his own. (That's the rumor I'm hearing anyways.)

Let's just leave it at that.

Quote (ShampooMonK @ Aug 25 2020 06:07pm)

I don't get why you think BB was in charge of making executive decisions... People need to start looking at Doc Rivers/Thibs as prime examples for why you don't give coaching/GM duties to one single person.

As stated before multiple times, it was a collective effort.

Quote (Sixers @ Aug 25 2020 06:15pm)

He didn't have executive power to make decisions, but he had more pull than Brand. That was no secret to public.

Is Brand partially to blame? Sure, who really knows what he favored and didn't favor. Maybe he wasn't in agreement to bringing in Horford? Maybe he was? Who knows, but ownership obviously likes him enough to move forward with him so that's a sign that he probably had favorable input in the past.

Quote (Sixers @ Aug 25 2020 06:15pm)

He didn't have executive power to make decisions, but he had more pull than Brand. That was no secret to public.

Is Brand partially to blame? Sure, who really knows what he favored and didn't favor. Maybe he wasn't in agreement to bringing in Horford? Maybe he was? Who knows, but ownership obviously likes him enough to move forward with him so that's a sign that he probably had favorable input in the past.

edit: also for the record, Horford is capable of producing FAR more than he has. It's just that BB didn't really seem to know how to use him...like at all. I guarantee you if he was back in Boston he'd be the same player again lol.

Quote (ShampooMonK @ Aug 25 2020 06:19pm)

Yes, because ownership has a great track record of making smart decisions too.

The truth is the terrible decisions start at the top, if there was indeed collective decisions all around as a collaborative effort, then the people up at the top need to be removed.

Also your comment about players turning into good GM's is up in the air.

There's only a handful of players who turned into executives/manager positions with success, like Bird, Russell, West, Ainge, and Dumars.

Anyways, hope Brand pans out.

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During a 30-minute video chat with reporters, Brand positioned himself as just one man and one voice in a crowded room, a room that he not-so-subtly suggested leaned too heavily toward the analytics and strategy department and not heavily enough toward the "basketball guys" department.

Prominent names in the front office came up throughout the call. Alex Rucker, previously the team's Vice President of Analytics & Strategy, was promoted to Executive VP of Basketball Operations beginning in September 2018 when Brand ascended to the general manager position. His voice has been prominent in the room throughout his time in Philadelphia.

While Brand refused to make any individual a scapegoat for their issues, whenever he was asked where changes had to be made in the front office, he had a specific tilt.

"As I've been taking a deep dive in where we failed, what went wrong, and how we can get better, I felt like we need to strengthen our organization from top to bottom, and that starts with the front office," Brand said. "Balancing our strengths and analytics and basketball strategy with more basketball minds, and whatever happens. My goal, with whatever happens going forward, is making sure we are in position to truly contend."

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It's an interesting way to frame the conversation. You would be hard-pressed to find a stat-savvy person who believes the best way to build around Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons is to ignore shooting and spend nearly $300 million on a second center and a power forward who would be forced to play out of position. Most optimism surrounding the Sixers hinged on an old-school belief that they could win with size and toughness in a league going smaller and smaller each year. Even as they sputtered throughout the year, hope was held out that they could "flip the switch," an idea based on faith and not facts.

But the subtext is easy to spot. Brand, sitting in the lead chair by title over the last two years, is projecting the image of a kitchen with too many cooks.

For example, Scott O'Neil, CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, leads the Sixers on the business front but has the ear of Sixers ownership on a variety of other matters. When asked if O'Neil would be involved in the coaching search Tuesday, Brand was direct.

"To be clear, and frank, we feel the collaboration days didn't work too well. So I will be leading the search. I will be making the recommendation to Josh and David," Brand said. "I've grown as a leader and I've grown as a general manager. I was put in the fire, had some tough decisions to be a part of, but now I'm looking forward to putting my stamp on this thing and taking full accountability for whatever happens next."