Sixers news: Former NBA All-Star Elton Brand has done a pretty good job as the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers. This summer, he was able to build a solid roster that’s expected to be one of the best in the league.
So he has the right to be confident about the team’s chances of winning the championship this season.
“I think what we’ve done is put in place the championship DNA, in order to be a contending team for years to come.”
The Sixers already have Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons as the franchise’s primary cornerstones, but Brand needed to surround them with players who can compete at a high level, and that’s what he was able to accomplish in the offseason. Although Philadelphia lost Jimmy Butler in a trade with the Miami Heat, they were able to acquire promising young star Josh Richardson. The team also added veteran forward Al Horford and re-signed sharpshooting big man Tobias Harris to a five-year deal.
Overall, Brand is proud of what he’s able to accomplish and that he’s excited to see how good the team will be this season.
Last season, the Sixers finished with a 51-31 record, good for third place in the Eastern Conference standings. They made quick work of the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, they lost to the eventual NBA champions Toronto Raptors in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals behind a series-clinching buzzer beater from Kawhi Leonard.
Embiid’s injuries and Harris’ struggles on the offensive end doomed the Sixers against the Raptors, but they’ve already moved on from what happened and are ready to begin the next chapter of their story.
On paper, Philly is one of the best defensive teams in the league. Their starting line-up of Embiid, Horford, Harris, Richardson, and Simmons are also projected to be one of the tallest in the NBA. If they will be able to find their rhythm early in the season, they will be a huge problem for a lot of the opposing teams.
But once again, health will play a major role in determining whether or not the Sixers will succeed this season, which is why Brand is also planning to be more involved in making medical decisions about the team’s players.
If the Sixers will remain at full strength for the majority of the season and if Simmons, Harris, and Richardson can take their game to another level, it’s hard to imagine anyone from the East beating them in a seven-game series.
Brand believes that every member of the Sixers’ roster is determined to win the title. All he wants to see now is how good they will be on the floor, and at this point, they seem to be very promising.
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