Sixers making moves in scouting department despite lack of GM

The Philadelphia 76ers are not waiting to hire a general manager as they make changes in its scouting department.

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Sorry if you have your resume in hand but this is NOT a real advertisement. But judging by the recent actions of the Philadelphia 76ers, it might be an accurate depiction of what the next General Manager’s duties will be.

Although nothing official has been announced, Keith Pompey of the Inquirer posted that the Sixers have let go long-time scout Mike VandeGarde while hiring J.R. Holden to be an international scout.

Additionally, Pompey said the team is looking to hire a scout who is a woman for gender diversity reasons.

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None of these are major developments, except for the fact they are occurring without the Sixers having filled the slot of the person who is suppose to be supervising the scouting department.

VandeGarde was based in Texas. Ironically, the 76ers traded for Zhaire Smith of Texas Tech, the No. 16 pick in the draft.

Holden was the Director of International Scouting for the Detroit Pistons as part of the Van Gundy regime. He has a lot of European connections and maybe the Sixers had to jump on hiring Holden before another team scooped him up.

But who is making these decisions? Scouts are usually the foot soldiers of an organization. They need to know from the boss what kind of players to look for.

The Sixers have been without an official President of Basketball Operations/General Manager since Bryan Colangelo left on June 7. Head coach Brett Brown was named the interim GM but he made it clear from the start he does not want the job on a permanent basis.

Of course, by their actions, the 76ers have been hardly waiting for a new general manager to arrive.

Hopefully, the new GM was not a big fan of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Richaun Homes, Justin Anderson or Mikal Bridges, because the Sixers’ interim front office shipped them out. It would also be helpful if they really liked Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala, since they came in trades after Colangelo left. If they would done whatever it took to get Kawhi Leonard, well, that shipped has sailed.

One can argue the 76ers could not just sit there and twiddle their thumbs while waiting for a new guy (or girl) to be in charge in what was, after all, ballyhooed as ‘The most important offseason in 76ers history’.

Apparently, the team is are now kicking their search into high gear. Managing partner Joshua Harris told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Amy Fadool on July 11 they were really just getting started now that the draft and major free agency were over.

As for how the search is going, no one outside the inner Sixers circle knows, except for a reported long-shot try at Houston GM Daryl Morey.

One would guess these scouting department moves are coming from Vice President of Basketball Personnel Marc Eversley but someone higher up had to give him the OK to do the hiring and firing and start looking for a female scout.

With even minor organizational adjustments like scouting being finalized, whomever the new General Manager will be really will not have much to do until maybe the trade deadline in February. The roster is pretty much set except for signing some camp bodies and maybe finding a way to unload Jerryd Bayless’ contract.

Harris and Brown sing the praises of the current basketball staff so they will not want anyone new to clean house. Outside of a headline-grabber, that could point to someone from inside being promoted. The scouting moves could be a sign of that, since an insider would have had input in all the moves the 76ers made post-Colangelo.

Whoever eventually gets the job, they will have a pretty easy gig for a while, thanks to all the work the ‘interim’ crew did.