Josh Harris had begun reading his prepared remarks in that stiff, halting manner of his Thursday morning, as if he were a bad actor who might forget to omit the stage directions from his lines. To Harris' left, along a wall of the 76ers training complex, was a line of players, coaches, executives and employees, a strong show of solidarity for the new general manager, Elton Brand.
Here was the introduction of the latest face and front man of the franchise, and Harris, the Sixers' principal owner, went on and on about all the ways that Brand, with his 17 years as an NBA player and less than two years as an NBA executive, was the ideal candidate at just the right time.