Elton Brand out as GM, Sixers promote Jameer Nelson to No. 2 next to Mike Gansey
The Sixers’ new front office structure is official. Mike Gansey is the new president of basketball operations, replacing Daryl Morey. Jameer Nelson, the Saint Joe’s legend and current assistant GM, has been promoted to executive vice president of basketball operations as the number two executive in the organization.
Assistant GM Prosper Karangwa agreed to a multiyear extension after receiving interest from multiple other teams. Elton Brand will not return as general manager.
Jameer Nelson promoted, Elton Brand re-assigned elsewhere in HBSE
Let me say that last part again because I’ve been waiting years to type it. Elton Brand will not return as general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers.
I genuinely did not know what Elton Brand’s job was for the last three years. I’ve written that on this site before. Nobody could explain what he did on a daily basis. He was technically the GM but Morey was running everything as president of basketball operations.
Brand was a title on a door and a name on an organizational chart that hadn’t been relevant to actual basketball decisions in years. Now he’s “working through a new role” with Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, which is corporate speak for “we’re figuring out a landing spot that doesn’t involve him making basketball decisions.”
At least it’s honest. Brand elected not to interview for the president role, which tells you he knew the writing was on the wall.
Respect to Brand for his NBA career and for being a professional throughout but the GM title should have been taken from him a long time ago. The fact that it took a complete front office overhaul for the Sixers to finally move on from a GM who wasn’t actually functioning as a GM says everything about how this organization operates.
Mike Gansey Is the Guy. What Do We Know?
Well, I personally know that Mike Gansey went to WVU…
Mike Gansey won the job over the internal candidates and the other external names that were floating around. Bob Myers ran the search and landed on Gansey, which means Myers saw something in him that the other candidates didn’t have. What exactly that is, we’ll find out over the next year.
The Sixers’ new president inherits a roster with three max contracts eating the cap, a franchise player whose health is a year-to-year question mark, zero bench depth, the worst backup center situation in the league, a 22nd overall pick from the McCain trade that needs to hit, and a fan base that is completely out of patience.
Good luck, Mike. The honeymoon period in Philadelphia is approximately 48 hours.
After that, every decision gets judged in real time by millions of people who have been suffering through organizational malpractice for the better part of a decade.
The draft is June 23rd. Free agency opens June 30th. Gansey has less than three weeks to evaluate the roster, prepare for the draft, and build a free agency plan. That’s an insane timeline for someone who just got the keys to the building.
Whether he was already doing background work during the search process will determine how prepared he is for the sprint that starts immediately.
Jameer Nelson as the Number Two Is the Right Call
I wrote a few weeks ago that I was nervous about the Sixers potentially handing Nelson the top job because of the Elton Brand parallels. Beloved Philadelphia basketball figure promoted beyond his experience level into a role he’d never held before. That concern was real and I stand by it.
Jameer Nelson as the number two is different.
That’s the right role for him right now. He’s a Philly native. He played at Saint Joe’s. He’s been in the Sixers’ organization since 2020, working his way up from scout to G League executive to assistant GM.
He knows the players. He knows the locker room. He knows the city. Pairing him with an external president who brings a different perspective and a broader network gives the Sixers the best of both worlds. Local knowledge and institutional memory from Jameer Nelson. Fresh eyes and outside experience from Gansey.
If Jameer Nelson thrives as the EVP and proves he can operate at the highest level of front office decision-making, the president job could be his down the line. That’s a better development path than throwing him into the top chair before he’s ready and hoping the Philadelphia connection compensates for the lack of experience.
The Sixers tried that with Brand. It didn’t work. Learning from that mistake and structuring the hierarchy properly this time is a sign that maybe, maybe, the organization is starting to figure some things out.
Karangwa Staying Is Quietly Important
Prosper Karangwa agreeing to a multiyear extension matters more than people realize. Multiple teams were interested in poaching him during the transition. The Sixers kept him. Organizational continuity during a front office overhaul is critical because you can’t replace every single person at once and still function. Karangwa provides institutional knowledge and stability while Gansey and Nelson settle into their new roles.
The Real Work Starts Now
New president. New EVP. New structure. Same problems. Embiid’s health. George’s age. No bench. No backup center. No depth. The McCain trade return that needs to produce. The luxury tax question that Harris keeps saying isn’t an issue while the pattern says otherwise. The need for a right-handed shooter off the bench who can actually hit threes in the playoffs.
I’ve said it multiple times this offseason and I’ll say it again. The core is set with Embiid, Maxey, Edgecombe, and George. Everything around them needs to be rebuilt. Gansey and Nelson have the draft, free agency, and the trade market to work with. The 22nd pick has to be a contributor.
The free agent signings have to address the bench. The backup center has to be a real NBA player who doesn’t crater the team every time Embiid sits down.
This is the summer it actually has to happen. New leadership. New structure. Same demands from a city that has been waiting for a Conference Finals appearance since 2001. Mike Gansey, Jameer Nelson, and the rest of the new front office have about six weeks to prove they’re going to do things differently than the last regime.
We’re watching. We’ve always been watching. Get it right this time.
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