The general manager (GM) for the Philadelphia 76ers hasn’t been without mistakes in his tenure and now it’s time to rank the worst three.
Elton Brand came into general manager (GM) position with the Philadelphia 76ers with very little experience. There’s no denying he’s made some solid moves and I’ve even graded all the moves he made during his first full year as GM. However, it’s become clear that some of the moves he’s made for the franchise this past summer have been terrible choices. Below are the three worst moves he’s made in his tenure thus far.
3. Trading Landry Shamet
Let’s be clear, trading for Tobias Harris made sense and still does, despite Brand having to overpay the combo forward. Acquiring Harris in itself wasn’t a bad deal, but including Landry Shamet in the deal was a big mistake.
To be honest, the Sixers overpaid in terms of sending draft assets to the Los Angeles Clippers, especially when Shamet was included in the deal. Before being shipped off, Shamet was having a very good rookie season for the Sixers. He was 8.3 points on 40.4 percent shooting on his 3-point attempts.
His 4.5 3-point attempts per game were the fifth highest of any player that suited up for the 76ers last season. Not only was Shamet a very good 3-point shooter, but he was also a high volume one at that. He was able to replicate what J.J. Redick was doing in terms of their off the ball movement, granted on a lesser scale.
Shamet would have been an even bigger part of Philly’s offense this season if Brand didn’t trade him, especially with the lack of floor spacers on the roster this year. Brand should have been willing to give up even more draft capital or another young player like Zhaire Smith for example, instead of parting ways with Shamet.