Elton Brand’s job is to try and win the NBA championship for the Philadelphia 76ers. In doing so, he might actually win two titles as he is loading up the Delaware Blue Coats of the G-League. This gives the Sixers an even deeper pool of talent to draw upon.
In August 2017, Elton Brand started her career in basketball management as the general manager of the 76ers’ NBA Developmental League (D-League) team, the Delaware 87ers.
“Everything I do now, I first did with the 87ers,” said Brand on the NBC Sports Philadelphia telecast of the Pistons exhibition game.
Two years later, not only is Brand the GM for the big club but things are also different with the minor league team he once led.
The D-League is now called the G-League due to a sponsorship deal with Gatorade. The Philadelphia 76ers‘ affiliate is now known as the Blue Coats and instead of playing its games at the University of Delaware, it now has its own arena in Wilmington, the 76ers Fieldhouse.
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Until a few years ago, the G-League was looked down upon as low-level minor league for players who either could not get a well-paying deal overseas or were so desperate to make the NBA they were willing to take a lot less money. The pay was low, the competition level not great and the bus rides long.
When Sam Hinkie was the Sixers general manager, only the very bottom of the Sixers roster (who were probably D-League quality anyhow) ever ventured down there.
Sometimes they would be sent to practice with the team when the 76ers were not doing anything on a given day or used to get injured players a run or two before rejoining the big club.
But Delaware was considered only for the fringiest of Sixers players on the roster. You never saw Ben Simmons rehabbing when he was out with a broken foot or Markelle Fultz (who could have really used the non-pressure playing time) or a Joel Embiid during his many injuries play in a Delaware uniform. Most likely, their agents told them it would be beneath them.
But the G-League has changed and, a long with it, the perception. The pay, while still not great, is better and the NBA has invented things like two-way, Exhibit 10 and Exhibit Nine contracts where teams can pay more than the standard to players they want to keep in the fold.
In his first full NBA season as general manager, Brand is taking full advantage of those new ways to keep possible future Sixers under team control as, in most cases, players sign with the league, not a specific team.
Brand obviously by his actions wants to have a strong farm team to draw upon as one never knows when a rash of injuries will develop or a promising player the Sixers had liked suddenly blossoms.
This year’s two-way players (who can spend up to 45 days with the NBA team) are second-round pick Mariel Shayok and center Norvel Pelle, the fourth-quarter star of the Sixers exhibition game with Detroit.
The two-ways do not give the Sixers a clear competitive advantage, as every NBA team can sign their own two-ways.
It is what Brand did on Saturday, October 19, where he went above and beyond to strengthen the Blue Coats, and thus the Sixers overall depth, that was unique to the organization.
The action began when three players officially were cut from the 76ers preseason roster; 7-foot-4 Christ Koumadje, former St. Joseph’s sharpshooting forward Isaiah Miles and former Sixers two-way player Haywood Highsmith. All three had signed Exhibit 10 contracts, which mean they had financial incentive to play for the Blue Coats over any other G-League team and also not go to a foreign club team.
Then came five more names who were signed by the Sixers and quickly released. Since only 20 players can be on a roster (it goes down to 15 on October 21), they legally had to do it in two waves.
First there was rookie shooting wing Terry Harris (Tobias’ brother), former Temple standout Shizz Alston Jr. and 6-8 forward Julian Washburn, who played 18 games, starting three, for the Memphis Grizzlies last year.
Harris was signed to a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract.
Next up to receive an NBA contract, and then get cut by an NBA team (wink, wink) were a pair of guards: 6-2 shooter Xavier Munford (who played six games with Milwaukee in 2018-19) and sharpshooter Jared Brownridge, who played for the Blue Coats last season and led the league in three-pointers made with 187.
Because they signed with the Sixers, Harris and Alston had their G-league rights automatically assigned to the Blue Coats, as was Brownridge since he is a returning player. Delaware had earlier traded with Austin for Washburn’s G-League rights.
According to the Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, all but Harris received an Exhibit 10 deal, meaning if they play with Delaware for 60 days they get an additional $50,000
The bottom line is that the 76ers were under no obligation to give any of the eight a dime of guaranteed money. There are plenty of non-guaranteed training camp contracts handed out in the NBA and the other five could have received a standard G-League contract.
Brand made the decision to dish out hundreds of thousands of dollars so he could lock up a very strong base for the Blue Coats roster.
Even players like Brownridge and Washburn, who could only play for Delaware in the G-League, were given Exhibit 10’s. Maybe to make sure they do not sign a lucrative contract with an overseas team?
The result of the busy day are, the Blue Coats have a loaded roster.
To have true rim-protectors like Pelle and Koumadje is rare for G-League teams and, with Miles, Munford, Alston and Brownridge, one could argue that the Blue Coats have better outside shooters than the 76ers.
It will certainly be a fun time at the 76ers Fieldhouse this season. But, more importantly to Sixers fans,, Brand has made it clear by his actions that he will not be caught with a thin bench again, which possibly cost the 76ers the NBA title last year.
Maybe we will have two parades in 2020? One down Broad Street and the other in Wilmington.