On April fool’s day, the NY Post ironically released an article written by Stefan Bondy regarding the Knicks front office plans for the future. Supposedly the Knicks President of Basketball Operations, Leon Rose, is looking to the Sixers for his next GM.
According to Bondy’s sources, Brand has been targeted by the Knicks, obviously EB is still under contract through next season, but the report claims they wanted to see if he was relieved of his duties in Philadelphia following the playoffs.
New York and Philadelphia fans seem to be a bit confused by this report, but it does make some sense. Brand has continually made an effort to make this team a finals contender, especially since LeBron James left Cleveland. Even though the team hasn’t lived up to expectations, his acquisitions including Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris in the past year have impressed some outside of the organization.
Rose has close ties to the team and city, as he worked with Brand as Embiid’s former agent, and also has family ties in the region.
From the perspective of a Philadelphia fan, the thought of Elton Brand leaving would not be the most shocking thing following any shortcomings in the playoffs, after the expectations set for the franchise following the loss to Toronto last season.
Whether the Sixers made it deep in the playoffs or not, the roster fit just seemed to have writing on the wall that a coaching, or front office change needs to happen, if not both. The ownership group of the 76ers, Harris and Blitzer, is not the most well received ownership group either.
Depending on what happens with the current state of the NBA, the Sixers have a lot to figure out as an organization. Despite surrounding stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, clearly, they need to try to find at least another piece to help their lack of offensive consistency.
Looking at this team moving forward there is almost no other course of action that doesn’t include changing the coach and GM starting next season. The Sixers need to prove that they are willing to do whatever it takes as Joel and Ben enter the prime years of their careers. You can’t trade Embiid or Simmons before you try to fully maximize their talent. As much as EB and Brett Brown have helped this organization, it seems that they may need to make another adjustment to be a real championship contender.