The youngest team in the NBA, the Philadelphia 76ers, have had multiple incidents this season that have shown they lack the guidance and direction that youngsters on teams with more veterans usually have. That is where Elton Brand comes in.
About a month ago, the Sixers brought in widely-respected Jerry Colangelo as Chairman of Basketball Operations, in an effort to add more credibility to their front office and to potentially speed up “The Process” in Philadelphia.
Any change Colangelo brings to the team isn’t going to happen overnight, but he has already taken a couple small steps to help out the team.
The first move he made was bringing in Mike D’Antoni as associate head coach. D’Antoni brings a wealth of basketball experience as a player and head coach to Brett Brown’s staff, invaluable for a coach that is still learning on the job.
The most recent move by Colangelo and the Sixers was bringing in veteran, and previously retired, F/C Elton Brand.
Brand is 36 years old. This will be his 17th NBA season. Previously, he played for the Bulls, Clippers, Mavericks, Hawks, and for four years, he played for the Sixers.
In his long and largely successful career, Elton Brand has been a model player on and off the court, and his reputation around the league is proof of that. He naturally brings a lot of experience on the court that can be extremely useful for the young and talented Sixer big men, but what perhaps is even more critical is his knowledge of handling the pressure and bright lights that come with being an NBA player off the court as well.
This Philadelphia team is certainly not lacking in off-court problems. Jahlil Okafor has had multiple incidents off the court, such as slugging a heckler outside a club and driving 40 mph over the limit on a bridge. Joel Embiid, who has yet to step on the court of an NBA game, has had attitude problems throughout his career, which has led to him being sent home from road trips. And Nerlens Noel was fined over $25,000 in total his rookie season for multiple incidents of tardiness and missing meetings.
That is where Elton Brand will be most important. His on the court impact will be negligible. He hasn’t played in his first two games under contract, and has said “maybe a week or two” until he is ready to play. It wouldn’t do much for the likes of Noel and Okafor if Brand is taking their minutes on the court. But it is clear that Brand knows what it takes to be successful in the NBA beyond talent, and that is where his mentoring and experience will be critical for the young, but talented, Philadelphia 76ers.
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