Elton Brand Made Himself King of Philadelphia For a Day
Time for a little honesty: I doubted Elton Brand when he was hired. His meteoric rise from the Blue Coats to Sixers GM had me very skeptical. I was concerned that there were going to be too many “yes” men making decisions. I was wrong about all of these things because Jimmy Butler is now a Sixer.
Looking at it in a broad scope, Elton absolutely fleeced the Timberwolves. Covington has showed true promise this season but has a track record of disappearing in big games. He was a prototypical “3 and D” guy and would never be an elite go-to scorer. Dario has a big contract coming up that the Sixers were not in the greatest position to hand out. Since both these players being expendable and the Jared Bayless contract along with a 2022 2nd rounder, it’s clear the Sixers won this trade.
Just hand over GM of the Year. FOUR first round picks couldn’t pry Jimmy away but after five straight L’s, Thibs finally bent the knee. The front office has followed through on the star hunting comments. Jimmy is an ice in his veins sort of All Star. He may be an asshole, but he is a star. He now gets to play for a team that wants to win and in an arena that he put up a career high 53 points in two years ago.
It’s worth noting that Jimmy and KAT weren’t exactly fond of each other. I mean, if those girlfriend rumors are true, I can’t blame KAT. KAT and Ben Simmons have streamed games of PUBG together and seem to be more than associates. I’m sure KAT will talk to Ben about it, but I just hope Ben is adult enough to be able to draw his own conclusions, and not leave when he is a free agent. Jimmy also brings a work ethic that can only help with the development of Ben and Markelle. Another veteran in the locker room gives more insight when playoffs roll around, no matter how psychotic Jimmy is.
Elton proved me wrong. He showed me that when it comes to making decisions Elton will make them with winning a title in mind. I have renewed faith in the people running this organization, a faith that was eradicated by Bryan Colangelo in a short amount of time. Elton is king in this town until Bryce signs with the Phillies. The golden age is very close.