Elton

Brand

With Daryl Morey being hired as the team’s new president of basketball operations, there were questions as to what that addition meant for Brand’s future in Philadelphia. Well he’s safe, with the team inking Brand to a multi-year contract extension. Morey will be the one with final say on personnel decisions, but Brand’s voice remains one of high value with the 76ers.

“Former Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, ex-Thunder coach Billy Donovan and Clippers assistant Ty Lue are expected to be part of the next round of interviews and are strongly vying for and interested in the position,” Shams adds. Brand is on the record saying that he doesn’t intend to trade Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid so they’ll be looking to bring in someone who could maximize their talents while upgrading the rest of the rotation after they were exposed in the playoffs.

It’s no secret that Simmons and Embiid are an awkward fit in Philly, but they’re both under contract through 2023, so Brand still wants to try and make it work. Tobias Harris, who was signed to a five-year, max deal with Philly this past summer, was notably not mentioned in Brand’s comments today, so he may be shopped this summer. As for Al Horford, Brand says he thinks he can “fit on a championship-caliber team,” so it sounds like he wants to give Horford a shot under a different coach before he considers trading him.

“We are talking about the Celtics as if that could be an opponent,” said Brand, as the Sixers and Celtics would meet in the first round if the playoffs were to start today. “Brett [Brown] and his staff have also prepared for other teams in case there is a regular season and the [seeds] change. But we’ve done a deep dive.” No one knows whether this season’s playoffs will happen or not, but given the fact that the Warriors’ Steve Kerr isn’t planning on playing another game this season, Brand’s optimism does give us some hope that the playoffs could happen in July or August. And if that happens, it sounds like the Sixers and Joel Embiid will be ready.

Just because New York is interested doesn’t mean Brand is going anywhere, of course. He’s under contract beyond 2020 and the Sixers are reportedly “very happy” with his performance. His moves to acquire Tobias Harris and Al Horford came with steep price tags, but it gave the team added veteran depth to accompany franchise pillars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid -- whether that’s enough to win the East remains to be seen.

Brand had his right hand heavily taped to stabilize a bruised right index finger. The tape job obviously affected his shot and even forced him to take several shots left-handed. This injury should not cause him to miss any time, but his shooting could be off for a few games.

Brand is doubtful for today’s game, but the injury is not believed to be serious.

''I think at a couple of positions we may wind up just playing them by committee,’' said Dunleavy, referring particularly to center and point guard. Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, and Quentin Richardson will start at the forward spots and shooting guard. Chris Kaman and Marko Jaric have the most long-term upside at center and point guard, but are not likely to have any fantasy value in the early season.

Brand continues to seek medical opinions on the best course to take and remains out indefinitely.

Brand now has a targeted return date -- Dec. 9 against the Sacramento Kings.