Sixers Fans Want Change, Here's How the New Front Office Will Honor That

79 seconds into his reign as the Sixers' president of basketball operations, Mike Gansey was ready to face the music.

Mike Gansey at his introductory press conference with the Sixers | Austin Krell/On SI

CAMDEN — 79 seconds into his reign as the Sixers' president of basketball operations, Mike Gansey was ready to face the music.

There would be time to beat around the bush in the minutes to come. But he was ready to be a little bold. After expressing appreciation for his family, the family that has allowed him to reach this moment in his career, Gansey was ready to put something on the record.

My philosophy is simple," he claimed.

"Build a culture rooted in character, work ethic, competitiveness, accountability and teamwork."

Under the Sixers' new structure of power, Josh Harris and the ownership group remain the final boss, of course. But Bob Myers is the president of Sports at Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. Gansey will report to him. Jameer Nelson is the executive vice president under Gansey. Prosper Karangwa remains as an assistant general manager.

That's a lot of cooks in the kitchen.

But Gansey and company appear united on the importance of alignment up and down the organization.

If Gansey is comfortable enough to communicate his vision for this project in the public eye, then that must be the agreed-upon standard in the Sixers' building.

Ultimately, nothing said at any of these press conferences will matter to the locals because, well, it's just words.

Snake oil salesmen sell words.

The best organizations sell action. They say what they want to do and then they go out and prove it.

Daryl Morey's tenure ended the same way all tenures end—with people, both external and internal, wanting change.

So how do the Sixers deliver that change?

According to Nelson, you have to have people who want to be Sixers. In his eyes, that is the base from which culture and environment will develop in Philadelphia.

Myers noticed that there was a shift in perception of the Cleveland Cavaliers that coincided with their recent success. Players used to not want to go there. Now, they are complimentary of their time with the Cavaliers.

Let's not be naive. That's easy to do when checks for millions of dollars cash. It's easy to say when you're chasing playoff aspirations.

But it's not a coincidence that Gansey was there to see the shift in perception of Cleveland, and he's now in Philadelphia leading a staff emphasizing the importance of wanting to represent this franchise.

Myers doesn't view change through a shift in priority.

It's about making the most of each building block.

"Having been in the job of trying to affect change on a team, there's really one decision at a time. You can make a great pick, you can sign a minimum player that really move things further. I know the big discussions around 'make a huge trade'. Those are obviously things that look to appear to be the most meaningful," Myers told reporters on Monday morning.

"But it's just one good decision at a time. As far as change, you can have players that really do a great job for your team. You can have a $4 million player. It doesn't have to be the big-spending guys. We just got to get five, 10, 15-percent better, that makes a big difference. So it's just one thing at a time."

And in Myers' eyes, the change starts with actually having a direction on the court.

"We got to find an identity. We just don't have one. That's maybe a harsh thing to say, but look at the numbers. We were not elite offensively or defensively. If you're going to win at the highest level, you got to be great at something. We have the capabilities, the players, the talent," Myers said.

Myers, through two media availabilities, has not shown fear in addressing the elephant in the room. The next truth he spoke had obvious targets. Such is the nature of stone-cold truths.

"But in order to see what we are, we've got to be on the floor. You have to have a consistent product on the floor. And you find out and maybe that's not good enough. Or maybe it is. But we got to figure out what are we, what can we stand on as a team. Some teams stand on both. But we got to be great at one of them at least. And we got to find out which one of those it is," Myers said.

"And to get there, we have to have guys on the floor."

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