Elton Brand

Elton Brand, who recently accepted the position of GM of the Delaware 87ers, spent most of last season as a player development consultant for the Sixers. He was able to work closely with upper management during the pre-draft combine process and through that experience, he realized where he wanted to be during his post-playing career.

“Being in those high-level meetings with Josh Harris, David Blitzer and Bryan Colangelo really piqued my interest,” Brand said (via Jessica Camerato of Comcast Sportsnet). “I like this, I could really work basketball instead of playing it.”

Brand sought out the advice of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Sixers special advisor Jerry Colangelo among others to prepare for the role. He knows it will be a different kind of challenge than the ones he faced during his playing career.

“It’s a totally different mindset and a totally different type of energy,” he said. “I’m discussing players and trades and the business side of it. I was exhausted yesterday. Basketball is one thing, but it was a different kind of tired. I’m looking forward to growing in that aspect.”

Brand started the 2016/17 campaign as a player in Philadelphia before easing into his former front office role. He’s familiar with the organization and he plans on implementing the same offense and defensive schemes as coach Brett Brown. Such familiarity will be even more crucial as players on the newly designed two-way deals shuffle between the NBA and the G-League.

The Duke product added that he will miss being around his former Sixers teammates. Brand spent time with Joel Embiid, who is a candidate for an extension, this summer and  he told reporters at his press conference that the Cameroon native has been “working his butt off.” 

The Sixers are expected by many to take a leap forward and some optimistic fans believe the team could make the postseason for the first time since the 2011/12 campaign. Brand cautions that the team is still young and inexperienced, but believes the hype surrounding the team is warranted.

“It’s going to be a process that we will trust.” Brand said. “But it’s going to get there. We’re going to get there for sure.” 

The final game of the preseason Friday was the first time Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor appeared in the same game for the Sixers, and while coach Brett Brown is open to the idea of using both simultaneously, it will likely take time for that to happen, Brian Seltzer of NBA.com writes. The two big men have often been subject of trade rumors because they present a surplus of the same thing. The two players are also coming off of injuries and their limitations are the reason why they likely won’t be able to share the court early on, Seltzer writes.

Here is more out of Philadelphia:

• The Sixers have approached Elton Brand about accepting a front-office position and he has not ruled out the possibility of taking the job, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. It was a formality move when the Sixers announced they waived Brand Sunday because he had already announced his retirement.
• The team has yet to decide on a starting point guard for the season opener, but Sergio Rodriguez was in action with the starting unit during practice, Pompey tweets.
• With Rodriguez the likely starter and with a few notable injuries, the Sixers are reportedly interested in acquiring guard Tyus Jones, but Pompey writes in a separate story that the veteran is a backup at best and would not necessarily solve Philadelphia’s issues.

Elton Brand signed a one-year contract with the Sixers earlier this month, but that deal is non-guaranteed and Brand is part of a crowded frontcourt in Philadelphia. Still, the former first overall pick is a good bet to make the Sixers’ 15-man roster, according to Jake Fischer of Liberty Ballers, who tweets that the club appears poised to hang on to Brand beyond training camp.

Brand, 37, signed with the Sixers last January and appeared in 17 games for the team the rest of the way, averaging 4.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 13.2 minutes per contest. When Brand first joined the team, he wrote a piece for The Cauldron suggesting that he believed his “experience and wisdom” could help Jahlil Okafor and other young players on Philadelphia’s roster. Presumably, he aims to fill that veteran leadership role once again, particularly with Carl Landry no longer in the mix.

However, Brand’s ongoing veteran presence on the Sixers’ roster might cost the team one of its young prospects. With only 11 guaranteed salaries on its books, Philadelphia won’t face any financial ramifications for keeping Brand, but it will leave just three open roster spots for the club’s other eight non-guaranteed players. That group includes Robert Covington, Hollis Thompson, Jerami Grant, T.J. McConnell, James Webb, Brandon Paul, Shawn Long, and Cat Barber.

If the Sixers decide to keep Brand and want to retain more than three of those non-guaranteed players, it may spell trouble for someone like Nik Stauskas. The former King has a guaranteed salary worth nearly $3MM for 2016/17, but wasn’t great during his first year in Philadelphia — it’s not clear if he’s part of the club’s long-term plans.