PHILADELPHIA — Few executives have had a debut offseason like Mike Gansey.
The new Sixers president of basketball operations, who was hired in May, has quickly turned the team into a legitimate title contender, trading for Jaylen Brown on July 6 and signing LeBron James to a two-year deal three weeks later.
Brown held his introductory press conference at the Francis J. Myers Recreation Center in southwest Philadelphia on Thursday, which was attended by team owners David Blitzer and Josh Harris, along with multiple Sixers players and staff.
Meeting with reporters afterward, Gansey said he didn’t expect to have the offseason he’s had and was skeptical about his odds of landing James despite the roster and his own relationship with the four-time champion, which dates back to when they were in high school in Northeast Ohio together. He cited Philadelphia’s roster as the team’s biggest advantage.
“I think with the LeBron thing, I didn’t know how it was gonna go,” Gansey responded to a question asked by Front Office Sports. “Obviously, he’s got a lot of great options. Who knows what he was gonna decide? I thought after Jaylen, we had a better chance. And I guess that’s all we needed. Obviously our players were the biggest recruiters. Talking to Nick [Nurse], too. Our ownership was great with that as well. I think after the Jaylen thing, I don’t want to say it got real, but at least we had a chance to be in the mix but we are very fortunate that he picked us.”
