Report: Sixers Hire New President of Basketball Operations

A little more than two weeks after the Sixers decided to part ways with Daryl Morey, Bob Myers' search has landed on a new president of basketball operations.

Philadelphia is hiring former Cleveland Cavaliers General Manager Mike Gansey to be the team's next president, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

While Jameer Nelson is widely expected to be promoted after being a finalist for the president job, a decision has yet to be made on his role within the made-over front office, per Adam Aaronson.

As we've highlighted previously, Cavaliers wing Jaylon Tyson was a success story emblematic of Gansey's preferences and style. Tyson was picked 20th overall in the 2024 draft and has since emerged as a Swiss army knife in Kenny Atkinson's rotation. Gansey took note of Tyson's toughness, playing through pain during a predraft workout for the Cavaliers.

Gansey was won over by Tyson's desire to do the less glamorous work, like rebounding at a high level for his position and effort to win loose balls.

But, again, Tyson reflects something of an area of expertise for Gansey—success on the fringes of the roster. Those successes include forward Dean Wade, who would make for a strong fit in Philadelphia and just so happens to be an unrestricted free agent this summer in the range of the Sixers' non-cap salary exceptions. He was also critical in Cleveland identifying Craig Porter Jr. and Nae'Qwon Tomlin.

There is an underlying trend in Gansey's wins on the margins of the Cavaliers' rosters over the past few years: Size.

Tyson is 6-foot-6 with a positive wingspan. Wade is 6-foot-9 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. Tomlin is 6-foot-9 with a wingspan clear of seven feet.

He has an eye for versatility, and that is something the Sixers desperately need. Not just now, but for the last several years of the Joel Embiid experience.

It's understandable if there is some pause locally about the team landing on Gansey. The Cavaliers' big acquisition ahead of this season's trade deadline was James Harden, who looked every bit of 36 years old by the time Cleveland reached the Eastern Conference Finals and only added to his long line of playoff flameouts.

Did the Cavaliers fall for the Harden act again? Yes.

But there is context that should not be ignored. First of all, Gansey worked under Koby Altman in Cleveland, who was the Cavaliers' president of basketball operations. So that fundamentally distorts whether Gansey was the lead voice in the decision to go for Harden. Second, they traded Darius Garland and a second-round pick to acquire Harden.

So Cleveland effectively swapped out an undersized guard with availability issues in the middle of his rookie maximum contract for a more affordable, more available and flat-out better guard. The price was a second-round pick.

That pivot out of financial obligations mirrors another decision the Cavaliers made in Gansey's tenure. They consolidated Caris LeVert and Georges Niang with draft capital to acquire De'Andre Hunter from the Cavaliers. And when it came time to pivot out of the Hunter business almost exactly a year later, they got Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder back.

The track record of pivoting and mining prospects helped earn Gansey a promotion in Philadelphia.

Now we'll see if he plans to pivot the Sixers out of some of their own heavy financial obligations.

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