The Philadelphia 76ers are promoting assistant general manager Jameer Nelson to take over for Elton Brand as the new executive vice president of basketball operations. ESPN NBA Insider, Shams Charania, first reported the news.
Despite Elton Brand not returning as the Sixers’ general manager, Brand will remain with the organization in a new role with the franchise. He had served as the 76ers’ GM since 2018 and had multiple playing stints in Philadelphia during his playing career.
Jameer Nelson has ties to the franchise as a Philadelphia native. He has been with the team since 2020, serving in different roles. Nelson will now serve as the No. 2 executive, operating directly under the new President of Basketball Operations, Mike Gansey.
Since the Sixers’ second-round playoff exit, a sweep by the New York Knicks, the 76ers have continued to make changes upstairs in the front office. The ownership is deciding that enough is enough and that it’s time for changes. On May 12th, Daryl Morey was fired by the team after five years with the organization. Morey was widely considered a highly popular and influential executive during his time with the Houston Rockets, so his hiring was seen as the Sixers going with a proven basketball mind.
Following Morey’s firing, the Sixers announced that Bob Myers would oversee the team’s basketball operations department in an interim role. Myers, who is president of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment (the entity that owns the 76ers), ran the front-office operations and was an integral part of the search committee to fill the Sixers’ front-office jobs. Before joining the 76ers, Bob Myers served as general manager of the Golden State Warriors. He helped build the team over the years, resulting in multiple championships and a dynasty run.
The front office will now have a lot of work to do with the draft coming up later this month and free agency. The Sixers will now have all summer long to decide what they want to do with this current team. Do they still want to continue building around their big man Joel Embiid? Or should the Sixers build around the future of their young stars, All-NBA player Tyrese Maxey and the promising VJ Edgecombe?
It remains to be seen, but NBA fans should keep an eye out for the Sixers all offseason long.
