Why Mike Gansey May Be Off the Table for the Sixers

It appears that the Sixers may be facing some external pressure to narrow their list of candidates for the franchise's next president of basketball operations.

According to The Athletic's Joe Vardon, the Cleveland Cavaliers' front office and coaching staff are expected to return next season despite the team's lopsided sweep at the hands of the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

That is an important piece of intelligence for Philadelphia for one reason—Cavaliers General Manager Mike Gansey is on the Sixers' list of prospective new presidents.

Now it should be noted that Vardon's reporting suggests that there will be no internal forces pushing Gansey out of Cleveland. That does not necessarily eliminate the possibility of another team luring him away from the Cavaliers.

However, we've already covered Nick U'Ren and Vince Rozman in this space. There has been no commentary on Gansey, Minnesota's Matt Lloyd or internal candidate Jameer Nelson.

So, here's what you need to know about all three.

Gansey

Cleveland's selection of wing Jaylon Tyson in the 2024 draft said a lot about what Gansey prioritizes in building his roster. He wants positional versatility. Gansey liked that Tyson played through pain during his predraft workout, although he views workouts as a small piece of the overall puzzle. That selection came at a time when Cleveland needed frontcourt depth more than anything, an indicator that Gansey prioritizes the player he likes most over need. Gansey also told reporters after selecting Tyson that he valued his rebounding ability and knack for 50/50 balls, and that Tyson fit the profile of a big, playmaking wing.

Even if Koby Altman is Cleveland's president of basketball operations, it should fascinate both the Sixers and their supporters that Gansey can function in a versatile environment. For instance, he's known to be good on the fringes of the roster. He has a history of success with developmental players. He advocated for Dean Wade, who was undrafted in 2019 and is now a routine starter for the perennially playoff-bound Cavaliers. Gansey spotted Craig Porter Jr., who was converted early from a two-way contract, and Nae'Qwan Tomlin, who had little experience in organized basketball coming out of high school and bounced around college programs before landing in Cleveland.

On other hand, Cleveland has made some aggressive moves in the Gansey era, as well. The Cavaliers traded for Donovan Mitchell right after Gansey arrived. They also acquired De'Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks in a consolidation deal that got them under the luxury tax line, and then pivoted out of his money this past trade deadline in the deal that brought Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis to Cleveland.

Lloyd

Perhaps the staple of Matt Lloyd's résumé is that he built and managed a database that organized scouting details during his time with the Chicago Bulls. Going by press conference words, the trait that most aligns Lloyd to Bob Myers is that he values creating a culture free of judgment. He encourages presenting wild ideas in the front office space.

Josh Minott is a strong example of the culture the Minnesota Timberwolves have built under Lloyd Tim Connelly. While Minott did not find a long-term NBA home in Minnesota, the experience he got playing in a winning program gave him the opportunities he needed to grow and open doors with other teams.

Having said that, Lloyd does have something of a high-profile miss under his name. He advocated strongly for Rob Dillingham in the 2024 draft, so much so that the Timberwolves surrendered a future first-round pick swap and a future unprotected first-round pick to nab Dillingham in the lottery. He lasted a season-and-a-half in Minnesota, the Wolves pulling the plug at this season's trade deadline and sending him to Chicago in the deal to acquire Ayo Dosunmu.

To Minnesota's credit, though, they didn't let ego or pride marry them to Dillingham. They saw their miss objectively and pivoted out of it. Still, they could've had promising youngsters such as Matas Buzelis or Jared McCain at that pick.

Nelson

There's not a ton of publicly available information on the Philadelphia native, other than the Delaware Blue Coats won the G League title with Nelson as the assistant general manager in 2023. With Philadelphia trying to reinvent in some ways under Myers and company, it is valuable to have someone who admittedly likes to stir things up rather than take a passenger seat. From a personnel management standpoint, it may be particularly valuable to have a former player who was on a roster in the last decade and has the playing intelligence that comes with 14 years as an NBA point guard.

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