Philadelphia 76ers: Did Elton Brand fleece Clippers, Celtics in trades?

At the time, most experts agreed that Philadelphia 76ers general manager Elton Brand overpaid to get Tobias Harris from the Clippers and later Matisse Thybulle from Boston. However, in hindsight, might he have actually fleeced them? It sure looks like those teams got little in return.

When Elton Brand was named the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers on Sept. 20, 2018, all he had for administrative experience was a year as GM of the G-League Delaware Blue Coats and a few months in the Sixers front office in a position so low, he even admits sometimes they other execs ignored him.

His predecessor, Bryan Colangelo, had made few trades during his time, and what ones he did were pretty bad (shudder and remember Anžejs Pasečņiks).

On the other hand, Sam Hinkie as GM usually fleeced the other team, sometimes to an embarrassing degree (think Sacramento Kings in what one person called ‘One of the most lopsided trades in history’.)

Now, what Hinkie did with all his fleecing can be argued, like drafting centers three years in a row, taking Jahil Okafor over Kristaps Porzingis, but no one can deny he was a shrewd trader.

Despite the paper-thin resume, Brand has not been shy about swinging for the fences. Unlike Hinkie, he is looking for players to help the Sixers win a championship, not stockpiling second-round picks.

Brand’s first big move was the Jimmy Butler trade. It turned out to be a one-year rental.

Of course, so was Kawhi Leonard for Toronto and if that ‘quadruple doink‘ shot does not go in, Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is pilloried in Canada for trading DeMar DeRozan for him, instead of being hailed as a genius.  If the Sixers had beaten the Raptors, Brand would be the one getting accolades.

While the Butler trade can be debated, there are two moves Brand has made since being handed the reins which were, at the time, universally panned.

But checking in with Captain Hindsight, people now might have a very different opinion.