Elton Brand Settling In, Looking For Help

Former Blue Devil Elton Brand, newly minted GM for the Philadelphia 76ers, likes his team but says it “still needs a piece.”

He’s looking at free agency obviously but is willing to make a trade if it works.

The problem/challenge with trades is that you have to give something up and what everyone is going to want is Joel Embiid or Ben Simmons.

They might be able to cut a deal for Markelle Fulz - if they got what they needed for it - but even that seems unlikely.

And of course there are always draft picks.

Getting the right guy back for Brand won’t be easy but chemistry is vital.

When Julius Erving was traded to the 76ers following the ABA/NBA merger a super team was widely predicted. With Erving, George McGinnis, Darryl Dawkins, World B. Free and Doug Collins, Philly was expected to be great. And they were very good - and lost to Bill Walton’s Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals.

Before long they traded an unhappy McGinnis to the Indiana Pacers, got rid of both Dawkins and Free and traded for Moses Malone and former UNC star Bobby Jones.

The Sixers picked up Andrew Toney (aka the Boston Strangler) and Maurice Cheeks in the draft and picked up a bunch of role players and in 1982-83, won the NBA title.

It was a great team and worth the wait.

If Brand can pull off a major trade soon, more power to him. If not, he has tremendous assets already and can surround them with other talent via free agency and the draft.

It’s a controversial word in Philly these days, but getting to the highest level is a process.