76ers’ Elton Brand Was a ‘Front Runner’ in Hornets' GM Search

With major changes happening across the Eastern Conference in the Charlotte Hornets’ front office, the possibility that the Philadelphia 76ers could deal with a ripple effect was tossed out there.

Earlier this week, the Hornets notified the public that their head of basketball operations, Mitch Kupchak, has moved into an advisory role. That leaves a void at the top of their front office.

As the Hornets launched a search for Kupchak’s replacement, 76ers general manager Elton Brand was named as a target, joining a long list of prospects.

While the list is long, one Hornets insider pegged two current GMs as “early front-runners.” One is New Orleans Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon. The other is Brand.

“Per a source, the Hornets prefer a lead executive with previous experience and the early expectation is for the organization to hire a president as well as a general manager. The Observer has also learned New Orleans Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon and Philadelphia 76ers GM Elton Brand — who are no strangers to the Carolinas — are considered the early front-runners to replace Mitch Kupchak.” — via Roderick Boone of Charlotte Observer

Brand hasn’t had final say in Philadelphia since the organization added Daryl Morey in 2020. However, he’s worked closely with the president of basketball operations, having a helping hand in putting together one of the Eastern Conference’s most competitive rosters over the last few years.

And despite the loss of total power in 2020, Brand has experience as a front-office frontman and proved to be aggressive in both the trade and free agency markets.

It's no surprise Charlotte would consider Brand in their search, but the timing is off.

A few months back, when the Sixers extended Daryl Morey’s contract, the president of basketball operations mentioned that he hoped to see Brand receive a possible extension of his own.

It appears that the Sixers quietly followed through. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, Brand “does not intend” to pursue the job in Charlotte as he signed a long-term extension a couple of months back. Per Pompey, Brand remains “committed to Philadelphia.”

That will leave the Hornets searching for answers elsewhere.