Signing Elton Brand will have more of an impact for the Philadelphia 76ers off the court than on it.
After drafting Ben Simmons first overall, the Philadelphia 76ers are on the path of a complete rebuild.
Philly has some good pieces in place and could be a good team in the future. The arrival of Dario Saric along with their free agent signings certainly raises the level of optimism around Philadelphia. But they still need some veteran leadership on the team.
They had only two players over the age of 30 last year. Signing Sergio Rodriguez, who is coming over from Europe, will change that number. The number of older players will also increase with the re-signing of power forward Elton Brand.
According to multiple sources, including ESPN, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that they had re-signed forward Elton Brand. Bringing back Brand doesn’t look like a good move in terms of on the court production, but that’s not why he’s being brought back.
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Brand played only 17 games for the Sixers last season, averaging 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds while starting only one game. Playing around 13.2 minutes per game, Brand didn’t have a huge impact for the team.
In fact, he hasn’t been the same player for a long time. Father Time has caught up to Brand and it’s showed on the court. The last good season for Brand was back in 2011-12 with the Dallas Mavericks. That was the last season where he averaged double digits in the scoring column, and his second-to-last season where he played more than 20 minutes per game. At age 37, Brand doesn’t have a lot left in the tank.
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But Brand can make an impact off the court. On a team that has a frontcourt filled with young big men like Philadelphia, having a veteran can help. The trio of Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid, and Nerlens Noel still have a lot to work on in terms of their game. They also need veteran leadership to show them the way. Elton Brand could be that guy.
On the flip side, there is a problem with his signing. Signing Brand to the roster means that one of the roster’s bubble players won’t get a chance — a player that could develop on the court with the right amount of playing time.
According to CSN Philly’s Jessica Camerato, Brand’s deal isn’t guaranteed. So if the 76ers start to think twice about re-signing him, they can let him go and not have any money tied up on the books.
With Philadelphia still in rebuild mode, signing a veteran is always a risky move, especially if the veteran can’t contribute much on the court. But as far as off-the-court value is concerned, signing Brand is a great move.
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Overall for the Philadelphia 76ers, this is a weird move at the moment. Making the deal non-guaranteed is a good safety outlet for them, but they should be really thinking about the future. Maybe signing a younger player with more upside would be a better move.
Grade : C