Elton Brand was brought in as a surprise addition to this 2016 Philadelphia 76ers squad. The need for a veteran presence had been talked about all year with the team and the next steps in their rebuild, and Carl Landry was deemed as “not enough” in that category.
Brand, a skilled veteran who spent his college years at Duke University, was living in Philadelphia and open to coming back to the league, especially as a mentor to some younger guys from a team he spent four previous seasons with.
One of the huge selling points for Brand to come onto the team to be a mentor was that his main priority would be Jahlil Okafor, another Duke student who could just be one of the next best frontcourt players in the NBA.