What national reporters and fans are saying about the Sixers’ search for a new president

It has been one week since 76ers managing partner Josh Harris and interim president of basketball operations Bob Myers held a joint press conference to address the firing of Daryl Morey and the search for the front office’s next leader.

Now, the process is fully underway. A slew of candidates — some internal and others hailing from other organizations — have emerged. On Tuesday, The Stein Line reported that Myers, who is leading the search, wanted to interview Minnesota general manager Matt Lloyd for the open position. Cleveland Cavaliers GM Mike Gansey and Nick U’Ren of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury were also reported to be on his list.

Then, on Thursday, The Athletic reported that assistant general manager Jameer Nelson was the “strongest internal candidate” for the position. In the same article, league sources told The Athletic that the Atlanta Hawks denied the Sixers permission to interview GM Onsi Saleh.

» READ MORE: Which Sixers Should Stay or Go?

With so many moving parts in the open search for the team’s next president of basketball operations, various members of the media and fans have shared their opinions. Here’s what they are saying:

On Wednesday, The Inquirer reported that Sixers owner Josh Harris “desperately” wanted Myers to step into a full-time president role. Myers, who served as Golden State Warriors general manager and president for 12 years and is currently the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, is reportedly not interested.

One national media member seemingly agrees with Harris’ sentiment.

On First Take, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who worked alongside Myers for two years at the sports network, argued his former colleague should “handle the decision making as president of basketball operations” and retain Elton Brand as the team’s general manager.

“We have executives in every industry allocating responsibilities to other people and then when it’s time for the decision to be made, you bring all the intel to them and they make the call,” Smith said on the program last week. “That’s all Bob Myers has to do here. Josh Harris, don’t listen to Bob Myers.

“I don’t give a damn [that Harris] got the [Washington] Commanders and lord knows what else Harris has — the billionaire that he is,” he added. “I do know this. He don’t have a championship on an NBA level. Bob Myers got four of them. Why the hell are you going to look for somebody else? You do it.”

Myers, the architect behind the Warriors’ dynasty will play a role in the Sixers’ day-to-day operations following the hiring of a new president.

During last week’s press conference, Myers told reporters that he would communicate with any would-be president “daily, seven days a week” while maintaining his role with HBSE.

“Because I want to,” Myers added. “I want to hire somebody that I can work with. I want to hire somebody that Josh can work with.”

Since Nelson’s connection to the position was reported, excitement has grown around the former St. Joseph’s star and longtime NBA veteran taking further control over the Sixers’ basketball operations. On the 94 WIP Midday Show, hosts Hugh Douglas and Joe Giglio both felt that a promotion for Nelson would be a net-positive for the organization.

“I like the fact that he’s young, he’s 44 years old,” said Douglas. “He still relates to the game … I want somebody who’s going to have their finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the city and this basketball team."

“Jameer is a well-received, well-liked local guy,” added Giglio. “They think he’s qualified enough to interview him and put him in this process. To me, that’s like a cherry on top. The Sixers are bad at PR, call it for what it is. They rarely do something to make you say, ‘Oh, they did it right, they got it right, they made me feel better.’ Almost never. … I think there’d be a lot of people that are happy that Jameer Nelson is part of this thing.”

» READ MORE: From 2024: Jameer Nelson is relishing his general manager role with the Delaware Blue Coats: ‘I accept the challenge’

As Giglio made reference to, Nelson has a long relationship with Philadelphia-area basketball — mostly on Hawk Hill. The Chester native starred for St. Joe’s from 2000-04, becoming the second-leading scorer in program history. The 2003-04 season saw Nelson lead the Hawks to a 30-2 record as he was named the consensus National Player of the Year.

A vocal group of Sixers fans are rooting for Vince Rozman, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s vice president of identification and intelligence. Before joining the Thunder in 2022, Rozman served in a multitude of roles in Philadelphia for 16 years. More importantly, for some Sixers fans, Rozman has received a blessing from “The Process” orchestrator and former front office leader Sam Hinkie.

The Stein Line did report that Rozman is a candidate Philadelphia is considering. With the Sixers, he played a major role in drafting franchise cornerstone Tyrese Maxey alongside once-promising young players in Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle, Isaiah Joe, and Paul Reed.