The Sixers are set to hire Mike Gansey as their new lead front office executive
Gansey has been the Cleveland Cavaliers’ general manager under Koby Altman since 2022. He replaces Daryl Morey, who was fired from the position after six seasons.
The 76ers are set to hire Mike Gansey as their new lead front office executive, a source confirmed to The Inquirer on Friday.
Gansey has been the Cleveland Cavaliers’ general manager under Koby Altman since 2022. Before that, Gansey was the general manager of the G League’s Cleveland Charge and was named the 2016-17 G League Executive of the Year. He played collegiately at West Virginia and professionally overseas and in the G League.
Gansey has been part of the Cleveland front office that executed trades for Donovan Mitchell and, earlier this season, James Harden. The Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals before being swept by the New York Knicks.
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Bob Myers, the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and former president of basketball operations during the Golden State Warriors dynasty, led the search after Daryl Morey was fired May 12.
Myers said during a May 14 news conference that he also planned to be involved in “high-level decision making” surrounding major roster-building checkpoints such as the draft, free agency, and trade deadline. Myers added he would be communicating with the new hire “daily … because I want to.”
“I want to hire somebody that I can work with,” Myers said. “I want to hire somebody that Josh [Harris] can work with, and, most importantly, I want to win. And I think that I have had some experience in this space, and if I have something to say, it’s harder for me not to say it than to say it.”
It is unclear what Gansey’s hiring means for Sixers assistant general manager Jameer Nelson, who reportedly was the top internal candidate for the job and in contention to be promoted to general manager, even if an outside hire was chosen. Also unclear is the role of Elton Brand, who once was the organization’s lead decision-maker and later worked under Morey.
Gansey will take over a Sixers team that went 45-37 during the regular season and pulled off a dramatic Game 7 upset of the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs before being swept by the NBA Finals-bound Knicks in the second round.
He also will face a challenging roster-building situation. The Sixers boast an exciting young backcourt in Tyrese Maxey, a recently minted All-NBA performer, and VJ Edgecombe, who finished third in Rookie of the Year voting. But Joel Embiid and Paul George, who are aging and have struggled with health issues in recent seasons, have multiple years remaining on max contracts and are considered difficult to trade.
