Philadelphia 76ers: Elton Brand’s job security should be in question

Should Elton Brand continue being the Philadelphia 76ers general manager?

The Philadelphia 76ers are in a 0-3 hole against the Boston Celtics and one of the main reasons is the roster construction. While head coach Brett Brown should shoulder most of the blame for the team’s struggles, it’s not completely on him. General manager Elton Brand should be held responsible for the team’s struggles as well and it could cost him his job.

Co-Site Expert Christopher Kline of The Sixer Sense has already made the proclamation that the 76ers should just clean house as a whole. His article was quite compelling and part of me agrees with him, but before making a final decision regarding Brand, it’s only fair to review the positives and negatives of his tenure.

When Brand first took over as general manager he made several strong moves to put the Sixers in a lucky shot away from potentially winning an NBA title. Adding All-Star Jimmy Butler was a steal considering that no first round picks were involved in the deal and while the team did overpay to acquire Tobias Harris, it was well worth the cost considering the teams’ aspirations.

Brand’s mistakes

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However, Brand’s hot streak as a general manager ended rather quickly after the last postseason. The Sixers lost key perimeter players in Butler and sharpshooter J.J. Redick in free agency and replaced them with Josh Richardson and Al Horford.

Richardson’s a solid two-way player but isn’t on the same level of Redick or Butler in terms of overall talent. Horford was an elite big man prior to coming to Philly, but he was entering his mid-30s so there was bound to be some drop-off.

Brand also spent big money on Simmons, Harris, and Horford this past summer. While Simmons is surely worth what he was given, both Harris and Horford were clearly overpaid. Harris is a good player but has clearly struggled in the playoffs. Horford’s age has caught up to him much quicker than most would have anticipated, but it was clear Brand, who was Horford’s one-time teammate, overpaid as soon as the deal was announced.

The Sixers were so focused on adding size to be able to defend against teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors, they failed in adding enough perimeter talent to be effective offensively. It’s true they drafted wings like Matisse Thybulle and Marial Shayok, but neither have enough offensive talent to make an impact immediately.

Shake Milton was a nice surprise this season but that wasn’t Brand doing, but the front office was under Brown on an interim basis when they draft him. Milton’s also fair from a finished product at this point as well so relying on him too heavily would be a mistake.

Adding Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III were solid moves, but getting rid of two perimeter players in James Ennis and Trey Burke to make room for them wasn’t. Both Ennis and Burke have roles on playoff teams currently, whereas the Sixers have two centers on the bench in Kyle O’Quinn and Norvel Pelle who have barely played. Cutting one of those centers would have been the sensible move.

Raul Neto is the only true playmaker on the roster outside of Simmons and he doesn’t have a consistent role right now. To be frank, the team doesn’t have enough shot creators, playmakers, and sharpshooters on the perimeter.

Maybe it’s because was once a big man himself in the NBA, but Brand’s overemphasis on size and poor decision in not adding enough perimeter talent is why the Sixers are where they are in this series against Boston. This alone should put into question his ability to run the 76ers front office.

The NBA is based on perimeter talent and Brand didn’t add enough of that on this roster which is why this was set to fail from the beginning. The question becomes, should he get a chance to correct his mistakes? Only the owners’ fo the Philadelphia 76ers can decide that, but if he did get fired it wouldn’t be unwarranted.