Philadelphia 76ers: Elton Brand is to blame for team’s issues

The Philadelphia 76ers have a handful of issues and most of them can be traced back to the decisions made by their general manager.

Despite having a record of 36-22 record and being fifth in the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Philadelphia 76ers have been a disappointment this season. They were supposed to be a contender and a top team in the NBA, but have fallen short of that expectation thus far. While there are several things that contribute to the Sixers’ issues, there’s one person that should shoulder most of the blame for the 76ers shortcomings.

It’s no secret that Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons aren’t a perfect match in terms of being a superstar duo. It’s also been well documented that head coach Brett Brown isn’t perfect at his job. However, it’s general manager (GM) Elton Brand‘s job to maximize the strengths of his star players and his head coach. Brand has failed to do this, while also failing to keep the team’s young talent and draft assets.

Brand came in with very little front office experience outside of being the general manager of Philly’s G-League affiliate. When he took over as general manager the Sixers were still developing a young core of Simmons, Embiid, Markelle Fultz, Dario Saric, Robert Covington, T.J. McConnell Furkan Korkmaz, Shake Milton and Zhaire Smith.

This core had its limits, but it wasn’t a finished product and more importantly, it didn’t have super high expectations on it. Thanks to what Brand has done with this roster over a season and a half, they don’t have as bright as a future and have super high expectations.