All throughout “The Process” for the Philadelphia 76ers, there was commentary that a losing culture would be detrimental to the organization’s long-term success, and that a losing culture (put in place intentionally to acquire assets and rebuild in an efficient manner) would be a hole the team could not climb out of.
This is something that has, obviously, been debunked in a dramatic fashion during last year’s playoff run and late-season success for the Sixers, but one audible that was called partway through the rebuild was an effort to obtain veteran presence players.
Bryan Colangelo’s tenure as an executive with the team was turmultuous to say the least, but his part in bringing in Elton Brand actually was a great move — and one that, in a roundabout way, put Brand in a position to take over Colangelo’s role when he stepped down after burner-gate — and a precedent that has stuck with the team.