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Elton Brand will become the general manager of Philadelphia, replacing Bryan Colangelo.(Photo: AP)
Elton Brand can connect with Fortune 500 business leaders, and he can connect with players in a locker room.
This ability to gain respect from NBA owners with his business acumen and his relationships with players because of his long career in the league explains why the Philadelphia 76ers hired Brand as the new general manager.
The brand has agreed in principle to work Tuesday, two people with direct knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. They asked for anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly until the Sixers made an official announcement.
The search for a new GM to replace Bryan Colangelo, Utah Jazz Deputy General Manager Justin Zanik and Executive Vice President of Houston Rockets Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas were fired.
Brand, the No. 1 pick in the 1999 draft, spent five seasons with the Sixers and joined the Sixers as a development consultant after retiring from the game in 2016. He spent last season as General Manager of Sixers. League team, Delaware Blue Coats.
The Sixers also promoted Alex Rucker to the position of executive vice president of basketball operations in a front office including deputy general manager Ned Cohen and senior vice president of player staff Marc Eversley.
The Sixers were looking for a general manager who could also work in a collaborative environment, according to those who know the situation. The Sixers property likes to keep the positive synergy already created by those who are still in the staff.
Brand, 39, joins a long list of former, often impressive, players to lead a front-line squad: Pat Riley, Magic Johnson, Danny Ainge, Joe Dumars, Larry Bird, Mitch Kupchak and Rod Thorn. Riley, Ainge, Dumars and Kupchak all won titles as executives.
Several former players occupy or have held other duties in the front office, and Brand has quickly progressed from his playing time to the front-office chief. The Sixers hope Brand will learn basketball skills and lead them to the next level, which includes championship competition.
The Sixers have some of the pieces in place to help Brand. This work – which opened unexpectedly when Colangelo's wife was accused of sending sensitive tweets to teams and players under pseudonyms – was coveted by the leaders.
The Sixers have one of the best teams in the league with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, Markelle Fultz and Robert Covington, and lost to Boston in the second round of the 2018 playoffs.
They are in a position to be the contenders for the Eastern Conference for the next five seasons. They have written well and built a solid foundation from which to build. Phialdelphia also has a favorable salary cap situation and will be active in the free agent market after the 2018-19 season. The owners of Sixers, led by Josh Harris and David Blitzer, told USA TODAY Sports that they were ready to pay the luxury tax under the right circumstances.
Given Brand's outstanding reputation as a player, teammate and his relationship with players, he is confident that he can help the Sixers become a free agent and give Philadelphia a chance to win his first NBA title since 1983 .
Follow Zillgitt on Twitter @jeffzillgitt
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