With less than one month until NBA training camps begin in earnest, the Philadelphia 76ers do not have a permanent general manager in place. Head coach Brett Brown has been operating in the role since the organization parted ways with Bryan Colangelo in June but, given the team’s present-day situation as a legitimate Eastern Conference contender, it is certainly unusual that Philadelphia would go more than two months without an established figure at the top of the front office.
With that as the backdrop, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN caught up with 76ers managing partner Josh Harris on Monday and he indicated that the team may not actually hire a general manager in the near term. The Sixers announced front office changes on Monday morning, promoting Ned Cohen to assistant general manager, Marc Eversley to senior vice president of player personnel, and former All-Star Elton Brand to vice president of basketball operations.
Those tweaks did not include the hiring of an unquestioned front-office leader, however, and Harris indicated to ESPN that they “leave open the possibility” that a full-time general manager won’t enter in the mix in the near future. Currently, Brown works as the interim general manager but Harris shared that the Sixers “prefer to find an elite talent who can lead” the organization and they “aren’t going to compromise” as a result.
Famously, the Sixers pursued Rockets executive Daryl Morey in July but attempts to acquire his services were rebuffed. Morey would certainly fit the bill as an “elite talent” that Philadelphia may be seeking but Harris seems to understand that that kind of figure isn’t readily available.
“There are a very small number of elite sitting GMs, and they’re generally under contract with teams for a long time,” Harris told ESPN. “Those situations tend not to change much. For us, we need someone to add real value, which includes looking at young up-and-coming basketball executives and non-traditional candidates.”
Harris went on to say that the organization will “have a pretty selective list” when considering potential hires, but he isn’t shying away from the quality that he is seeking in the role.
“I think we have one of the best, if not the best, situation in the NBA — particularly for the leader of a front office,” Harris told ESPN. “We have great young players, lots of cap space and stable ownership willing to invest and spend in the team. We’re going to be patient and try to find the right person. The next year is going to be incredibly important for us, and we have a real desire to find the right person now — but if not, we are incredibly comfortable with the existing staff and we’ll move forward from there.”
In some ways, Harris is saying all the right things here and it is strangely admirable that the organization did not simply grab an available (and qualified) front office executive to lead them during an important time. Brown is certainly surrounded with quality voices but, as the rest of the league has seemingly learned in the recent past, it is virtually impossible to have long-term success operating in a dual role as head coach and principal executive, and Philadelphia’s current situation makes the need for a firm front office voice all the more important.
By nature of the Colangelo saga, the Sixers have been one of the bigger off-season stories in the league but, even with no GM in place, they don’t appear to be in any hurry to quiet the whispers surrounding that admittedly bizarre situation.
