It appears as if Sixers general manager Elton Brand is doing whatever it takes to keep his job, even defending a player that hasn’t lived up to expectations during his time in Philadelphia.
The Sixers may have fired head coach Brett Brown, but that wasn’t necessarily the end of change in the City of Brotherly Love. Brand remains on the hot seat as well, and while there’s a good chance he’ll keep his job, nothing is set in stone as of this time.
So when NBA analyst Bruce Bowen blasted Joel Embiid for his poor play over the years, and his role in getting Brown fired, Brand fired right back, defending his guy. Bowen did make a number of good points, though, in terms of Embiid needing to be held accountable for his performance and work ethic, as you can see below.
And even though most of those points are fair, Brand did not waste any time in firing back at Bowen, in the defense of his oft-criticized seven-footer.
“Joel Embiid is growing as a player and as a person,” Brand said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I think he’s in the right spot. The way he led during this restart in this bubble — you don’t get to see the behind the scenes, but he was at every meeting, he was spearheading team events and he was pushing to do a lot better, and he wants to win and he wants to be in Philadelphia.
“Regarding Bruce Bowen, I really don’t know what he’s talking about. Usually, when you’re asked to speak at a meeting for a team, you don’t go and talk about it on ESPN. I’m sure he won’t be invited back to any of my meetings.”
Brand is saying whatever he needs to, but the fact remains that Embiid has struggled with his diet and conditioning, which has affected his durability, and it’s negatively impacted the team as a whole.
