Mike Gansey Reflects On Sixers' Whirlwind Offseason: ‘it's Just Crazy In This Nba'

Mike Gansey reflects on Sixers' whirlwind offseason: ‘It's just crazy in this NBA'  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Mike Gansey had high ambitions entering his first offseason as the Sixers’ president of basketball operations.

By his own admission, however, there was no surefire master plan to first trade for All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown and then sign all-time great LeBron James on a veteran’s minimum salary. 

“I didn’t know how it was going to go,” Gansey said Thursday after Brown’s introductory Sixers press conference. “(James) obviously had a lot of great options. I didn’t know what he was going to decide. But I thought maybe after Jaylen, we had a better chance. I guess that was all we needed. 

“And our players were obviously the biggest recruiters. … Our ownership is obviously great with that as well. I think after the Jaylen (trade), I don’t want to say it got real, but at least we had a chance to be in the mix.”

James wound up choosing the Sixers over a group of teams that included the Cavs, Heat and Warriors. The 22-time All-Star has inked a two-year contract with a player option in the second season.

Gansey was glad to pounce on his opportunities to assemble a star-filled lineup. He noted that the Sixers now have two former NBA Finals MVPs (Brown and James) and two former regular-season MVPs (Joel Embiid and James). 

“It’s just crazy in this NBA,” he said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen. For me, it’s just, ‘Hey, I’m going to pick up the phone. I’m going to try to get involved in everything I possibly can.’ See what’s out there and be aggressive and be creative. Fortunately for us, this is where we landed.”

While Gansey is eager to watch the Sixers in action, he highlighted that the team is 0-0 and will require time to gel. Brown struck similar notes in his press conference.

“I’ve been around a long time,” Brown said, “long enough to know that what you have on paper doesn’t really mean (anything). It can if you put the work in, but if you allow distractions, if you allow the media to get into your locker room, if you allow certain things and the personalities don’t work, it could be a detriment.

“So I’m aware that it could go either way. It just takes an amount of work, and the transparency and leadership can really guide this thing or not.”

Gansey still clearly has valid reasons to believe that the 2026-27 Sixers have enormous potential.

“I think we have great (top-end) talent,” he said, “but also getting Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade, (Ariel) Hukporti, having Dominick Barlow, getting Labaron (Philon Jr.) in the draft. I’m just excited to see how it looks — the combinations, the lineups, the versatility we have. When you have the talent, it’s exciting, and then trying to figure it out is the hard part. But I’m excited to see what’s ahead.” 

Gansey also views Embiid’s summer as a major source of optimism. 

After grinding through another injury-riddled season last year, the 32-year-old big man recently posted photos of himself working out with teammates on social media.

“He’s just been himself, man,” Gansey said of Embiid. “I remember when I got the job, I went over there and he was like, ‘I want to have a great year. I want to play a lot of games. I want to be All-NBA Joel.’ He’s talked the talk and now he’s walking the walk. He’s lost some weight; you saw the pictures. He’s been in the gym. He’s doing all the right things and he’s super motivated.”

Of course, Embiid is not the only Sixer itching for the start of the season.

“Talking to (head coach Nick Nurse), he’s excited,” Gansey said. “It’s just like a kid in a candy store. He’s like, ‘How are we going to put this thing together and see if works?’”