The Sixers have reached an agreement to add Elton Brand to their basketball operations department, the team announced today in a press release. According to the announcement, Brand will serve as a player development consultant for the franchise, and will be “heavily involved in assisting the players in every facet of their on- and off-court development.”
“We are extremely excited to bring Elton Brand back into the organization where he will be a valuable resource to our young and developing team,” Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said in a statement. “Elton’s leadership and character displayed throughout his playing career as a player align perfectly with our vision, direction and culture of this basketball team, coaching staff and management group.”
Brand, who announced his retirement this fall, originally appeared poised to snag one of the Sixers’ 15 regular-season roster spots. In that role, he likely would’ve served primarily as a mentor who didn’t see a whole lot of playing time, so by hiring him in a player development role, Philadelphia keeps Brand in the fold without having him on the active roster.
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The No. 1 overall pick by the Bulls in the 1999 draft, Brand averaged over 20 points per game in his rookie season, then reached that mark in five more seasons over the course of his career. A two-time All-Star with the Clippers, Brand spent time in Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Atlanta during his 17-year career, finishing with averages of 15.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 1.7 BPG in 1,058 total regular season contests.
Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote back in October that the Sixers had approached Brand about the possibility of a front office job, adding that the longtime NBA big man hadn’t ruled out the possibility at that time.