Minnesota Timberwolves: What Elton Brand would bring to the front office

There’s been plenty of chaos since the Minnesota Timberwolves surprisingly parted ways with president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas and put executive vice president of basketball operations Sachin Gupta in charge of basketball decisions.

But in all the info dumps about how the decision came to be and the hand-wringing over continued evidence of dysfunction in the franchise, only one outside name made its way into the related reporting: that of Philadelphia 76ers general manager Elton Brand.

Minnesota Timberwolves: What would Elton Brand bring to the front office?

Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported on Wednesday that soon-to-be Timberwolves owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are “fond of” Brand and that he could be a potential option for the top job.

It should be noted that Gupta does not have an “interim” tag on his position, which suggests he will be given a fair shot to prove he deserves to retain decision-making authority long-term. That being said, it is notable that Brand’s was the main outside name that was reported as a possible replacement.

The fit here starts with Brand’s changed role in Philadelphia over the past year. He was the lead decision-maker from the time he was named general manager in September 2018 until Daryl Morey’s appointment as president of basketball operations in November 2020. Brand signed an extension at that same time, but Morey has run the show in the front office, so it’s easy to see Brand potentially jumping at the chance to take the top job again elsewhere.

From the Wolves’ side of things, the marriage would be slightly murkier. Brand, a two-time All-Star as a player, is still young in his executive career and doesn’t have a ton of time as a front-office leader under his belt.

His time as the leading man in Philly was up-and-down, and while he has long carried a reputation as a good basketball mind who would fit in well in the front office and a well-respected figure among both players and other executives, there are questions about his ability to build a complementary roster as well as the turbulence Philadelphia has experienced in recent years.

Brand took over decision-making responsibilities with the Sixers less than two years after entering Philadelphia’s front office as a player development consultant. In that short time, he rose quickly to general manager of the Sixers’ G League team and then added the role of Vice President of Basketball Operations in August 2018, less than a month before he was named general manager.

He inherited a team that had plenty of star talent in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons and added to that in his first major move, fleecing the Timberwolves in a trade for the disgruntled Jimmy Butler.

He built on that by trading for Tobias Harris in February 2019, forming a starting group alongside J.J. Redick that had a whopping plus-24.7 net rating in the playoffs according to NBA.com. His trade of former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz didn’t net any short-term help, but it should be considered a positive considering one of the picks acquired was used on Tyrese Maxey in 2020 and another was part of the package to trade up for Matisse Thybulle in 2019.

Philadelphia was one memorable Kawhi Leonard shot from unseating the eventual champion Raptors for a spot in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals, so it’s safe to say Brand’s first year was pretty successful.

It was all downhill after that, though, starting with the 76ers’ inability to bring back Butler in free agency. Butler later referenced confusion in the power structure and indecision from the Sixers front office about their interest in retaining Butler as the reasons he decided to leave. Since moving Butler in a sign-and-trade to his preferred destination of Miami for Josh Richardson, Philadelphia has not had a significant source of perimeter creation, which has been the No. 1 culprit in their underwhelming results.

Brand pivoted by signing Harris and Al Horford to expensive, long-term contracts and filled out the perimeter with depth pieces such as Furkan Korkmaz and Raul Neto. Brand misevaluated how this oversized team would fit, and the Sixers badly underperformed in 2019-20.

Brett Brown was fired as head coach after Boston swept sixth-seeded Philadelphia in the first round and was replaced by Doc Rivers. Not long after, Morey took top dog status in Philly.

Brand only had two seasons and one full offseason as lead decision-maker for the Sixers, so it’s hard to completely judge his candidacy just on those results. Again, he’s well-respected for both his basketball mind and his interactions with others, and he’s certain to have learned from his mistakes as well as his year under Morey.

However, if he is to be considered for the Timberwolves job, he needs to show an improved understanding of roster fit. He also needs to address the unrest that has existed in Philadelphia, which Butler and Simmons have decided they want to leave and make ownership feel he either wasn’t part of the problem or has gotten better at maintaining those relationships.

It’s also interesting to consider the similarities between the Sixers team Brand took over and the Timberwolves now.

Brand made his best moves when enhancing a talented, young group hoping to turn potential into results. The Wolves aren’t on the level of the 2017-18 Sixers, who made the second round of the playoffs but are also looking to build around difference-making talents in Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards.

If Brand shows the same ability he displayed in Philadelphia to make splash moves while also improving his long-term team-building, he could be an excellent choice for the Timberwolves. First, though, let’s see what Sachin Gupta does with his opportunity.