Stuart London
76ers coach Brett Brown has always preached that defense is the number one thing he looks for in a player.
However, in practice that has not always been the case. Last summer, when he was officially in charge as interim general manager, he signed a number of players who can be kindly called human turnstiles on defense.
Apparently he has found a kindred spirit in new general manager Elton Brand who knew how to put Brown’s inclinations into action.
Brand has made the Sixers much improved with an influx of players with great defensive reputations. Outside of Trey Burke, who was signed a month into free agency as basically the 15th player on a partially guaranteed contract, and maybe Furkan Korkmaz (who has shown much improvement) everyone on this team is it at least a decent defensive player and many are outstanding.
The old saying that offense can come and go but you can always play defense is something the Sixers have taken to heart.
It might be nice to pick up another shooter at some point, probably in the February buyout period, but outside of that, a big strong defensive-oriented team you cannot go wrong with.