The Philadelphia 76ers, without a general manager since the firing of Bryan Colangelo in June, are comfortable going into the next season without a permanent hire team managing partner Josh Harris told ESPN in an interview.
The franchise says it is still targeting and interviewing candidates, but will not be rushed in its process.
“It does leave open that possibility,” Harris told ESPN on Monday. “We prefer to find an elite talent who can lead us, but we aren’t going to compromise.”
76ers head coach Brett Brown has served as the team’s interim general manager and has been surrounded by an assembled team of front office executives, who were promoted today.
In July, it was reported that the Sixers attempted to retain the services of Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, according to the New York Times’ Marc Stein.
However, the Sixers have been rebuffed in their attempt to hire the NBA’s executive of the year, according to the report.
Morey, who has been with the Rockets for the past 12 seasons, had the franchise one win away from a Finals berth. But Houston lost to the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.
The Sixers have been on the hunt for a new executive since Colangelo was relieved of his duties when it was discovered in an investigation found he was ”careless and in some instances reckless” sharing of sensitive team information.
Harris told ESPN that he is very comfortable with the current set up and believes the team can go into the season as constructed.
The 76ers inquired about several top front-office executives, but rival owners seldom have interest in allowing those kinds of individuals permission to exit contracts — even if that GM had interest in exploring the Sixers’ opening. Philadelphia has been gathering information on several assistant GM candidates and non-top executives in recent weeks, league sources said. The next pool of candidates would have a far easier ability to accept a job with the Sixers.
“There are a very small number of elite sitting GMs, and they’re generally under contract with teams for a long time,” Harris told ESPN. “Those situations tend not to change much. For us, we need someone to add real value, which includes looking at young up-and-coming basketball executives and non-traditional candidates.
“We’re going to have a pretty selective list. This is not going to be huge tournament. We’re going to talk to some people who aren’t sitting GMs who could add value to our situation.”
