Philadelphia 76ers: Should the team continue with interim GM structure?

Since the departure of Bryan Colangelo, the Philadelphia 76ers have remained static in hiring a new general manager to take the helm.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ front office is currently seeking a new candidate to take over general manager duties — though the final decision may not happen this season.

76ers team owner Josh Harris appointed recently renewed head coach Brett Brown to fulfill the occupancy in the previous months since former GM Bryan Colangelo’s shamed resignation. Special advisor Jerry Colangelo also reportedly will be leaving the team once his contract expires at the end of this year.

Harris recently told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the organization will meet and interview new targets, but didn’t rule out the possibility of leaving the current interim structure as is.

"“It does leave open that possibility,” Harris told ESPN on Monday. “We prefer to find an elite talent who can lead us, but we aren’t going to compromise.”"

Brett Brown has been the team’s interim GM since June, and he may remain in that position for the entire 2018-19 campaign.

It appears that Harris and the rest of the front office have a grown sense of reliability and belief in their interim situation.

"“We have a skilled and stable staff who share the same vision under Brett,” Harris told ESPN. “We prefer to find someone, but we don’t want to feel forced into compromising.”"

The Sixers extended Brown’s contract last spring to a three-year deal through the 2021-22 season and promoted front office executives Ned Cohen, Marc Eversley and Elton Brand earlier this week.

Cohen (assistant general manager) and Eversley (senior VP of player personnel) are the primary day-to-day operators of the front office — with Brand (VP of basketball operations) working in the Sixers front office and running the G League affiliate in Delaware.

They will also promote Alex Rucker (senior VP of analytics and strategy) and move assistant coach Kevin Young onto the front of the bench to replace Jim O’Brien, who will now serve as a senior advisor to Brown, per Wojnarowski.

The team definitely had its miscues this summer, dating all the way back to when the Colangelo investigation began. The Twitter burner accounts, and the later discovery of Bryan Colangelo’s wife Barbara Bottini being initially behind the fiasco, prompted Colangelo to finally hand over the position.

His departure, of course, occurred just before one of the most important offseasons in franchise history, but Brett Brown stepped up to the task.

It’s true that the organization didn’t have the summer many desired, but it’s also true that not many could’ve handled the burden with the manner Brown did. Aside from the lack of star acquitions, Brown and Harris were able to incorporate some fitting new pieces that surely improved the talented roster.

The interim system that they were abruptly pushed into actually may have worked in their favor — not for this summer, but in 2019.

They exited the 2018 NBA Draft with three promising young prospects in Zhaire Smith, Landry Shamet and Shake Milton.

Granted, notable free agents like LeBron James and Paul George readily passed on the opportunity to play in Philly, which may have been due to the front office’s instability.

However, the 76ers have a bright and extended path of winning ahead, which means that the eventual person will be one with whom the organization feels it can enjoy a great deal of success with for many years.