Sixers hire Elton Brand as general manager

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The Sixers have found their man.

The Sixers have hired Elton Brand as their general manager, sources confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, who first reported the news, Brand will be elevated from his previous role as vice president of basketball operations. Brand was also already on board as the Delaware Blue Coats’ general manager.

The Sixers conducted an exhaustive search for a new GM after Bryan Colangelo resigned in June following his highly-publicized Twitter scandal. Brett Brown filled the role until the franchise made Brand the choice.

The search included external candidates such as Golden State Warriors assistant general manager Larry Harris, Utah Jazz assistant general manager Justin Zanik and Houston Rockets vice president Gersson Rosas.

The team also heavily considered in-house candidates assistant GM Ned Cohen, senior vice president of player personnel Marc Eversley and senior vice president of analytics and strategy Alex Rucker.

In the end, the Sixers went with a familiar face who is expected to operate in their desired collaborative method to run the front office.

“What I've learned is that GM job has got many facets and that it's a learned skill,” Sixers managing partner Josh Harris told ESPN last month. “It's certainly got a public-facing nature to it, but management and very strong relationships are important — and very few people who are not sitting GMs have all of those components. We have strengths in all those areas around our front office right now.”

Players on the Sixers’ roster seemed to think the organization made the right call.

Brand’s NBA career spanned 17 seasons that included two stints with the Sixers (2008-12, 2015-16). He garnered plenty of accolades over the years from Co-Rookie of the Year to being a two-time All-Star.

However, in recent years Brand shifted focus from the hardwood to the boardroom. After being named a player development consultant for the Sixers in 2016, the 39-year-old quickly worked his way up the ranks to become the team’s top executive.

“Really working in Chicago, working pre-draft, going to Utah, Vegas with the summer league team, being in those high-level meetings with Josh Harris, Dave Blitzer and Bryan Colangelo really piqued my interest,” Brand said in 2017 when he was named Blue Coats GM of turning his attention to a front-office role. “I like this. I can really work basketball instead of playing it. That’s how it started. 

“ … The appeal was to get the repetitions in, transactions, and management, and day-to-day operations, trades. Just calling the shots, getting an opportunity to call the shots. People were like, ‘Oh, your name can get you the opportunity to call shots.’ I don’t want a job because of my name. I want a job because of what I can bring to the table and potential. That’s why I really want to do it.”

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