The Philadelphia 76ers entered this offseason coming off the most successful season in recent memory for the franchise, finally climbing out of the darkest depths of The Process years to enjoy the fruits of that effort in trip to the second round of the playoffs.
However, things got off to a rocky start when the Sixers parted ways with Bryan Colangelo over his wife’s burner Twitter accounts that defended him from criticism and also leaked information about player injuries. Since then, coach Brett Brown has taken over the role of GM and president of basketball operations, guiding the Sixers through the draft and free agency.
Many were surprised that Philadelphia didn’t move quicker to make a hire, given the importance of this offseason, but they’ve insisted they wouldn’t rush a hire just to make one, because they want to make sure they get the right person moving forward. On Tuesday, Brown was asked about the status of that search, given that the season is about to start which means his workload as coach will be much more strenuous, and he seems confident they’ll have a new person in place by the beginning of the season, as relayed by Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice.
“That situation will be resolved before the season starts,” Brett Brown says of GM search
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) September 18, 2018
Brown would not say whether the hire would be internal or external, but intimated that he believes he knows who the person will be
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) September 18, 2018
Brown brought up the collaborative process of making this sort of hire, and included that their brain trust has communicated with Joel and Ben throughout the process, says they are “curious” and deserve a voice
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) September 18, 2018
The Sixers didn’t make much of a splash this summer as some had hoped or expected with both LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard being available on the free agent and trade market respectively. Despite that, they made some savvy moves. Trading for Wilson Chandler flew under the radar, but was a nice addition on the wing as was bringing back J.J. Redick on another one-year deal.
Still, as we’ve seen recently, the coach-GM combo doesn’t work very well long-term and it’s wise for the Sixers to make a hire soon to keep Brown from having to pull double duty during the season. The question now is who that person will be, as there have been a steady stream of names that have reportedly met with the Sixers’ brass over recent weeks.
