Philadelphia 76ers: How much blame falls on Elton Brand?
By Pete Sawan
As the 2019-2020 NBA Season progresses, the Philadelphia 76ers have underperformed. General manager Elton Brand has played a role in the team’s shortcomings.
The Philadelphia 76ers had some serious playoff hopes for this season. Given the way things have gone so far with underperformance throughout the campaign and injuries to Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid in the NBA’s bubble, it can be argued that Philly might not make as deep of a run as fans would hope. Obviously, there are many fingers to be pointed at a wide variety of individuals.
When Elton Brand was promoted to general manager back in 2018, most fans didn’t know what to think. Considering the fact that Brand ran the show for the Sixers’ G-League affiliate, then named the Delaware 87ers, the year prior, many wondered if Brand even had enough experience to handle the reigns for an NBA franchise.
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The angle initially was seen as a lazy hire, where Sixers’ ownership simply wanted to keep a familiar face at the top without causing much commotion throughout the organization. It was a relatively safe hire, in that sense.
Right off the bat, Brand made some serious splashes in Philadelphia. He was able to make moves for the likes of Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, thereby solidifying Philadelphia as a serious playoff contender in the 2018-2019 NBA season. For what it’s worth, the Sixers were a few bounces away from making the Eastern Conference Finals that season.
That being said, that offseason proved to be a tumultuous one for Philadelphia. For starters, Butler did not want to return, so Brand had to work a deal to send him to the Miami Heat in exchange for Josh Richardson.
With the money saved from a potential Butler deal, the Sixers brought in Al Horford and re-signed Tobias Harris to a max contract. Mixed in there was the drafting of Matisse Thybulle, which has had its ups and its downs. All that said, the Sixers were poised to be a top seed in the Eastern Conference with an emphasis on defensive play.