Beyond all the nitty-gritty nuances of roster construction for Mike Gansey to sort through, one theme jumped out from his introductory press conference.
The Sixers’ new president of basketball operations cares a great deal about the intangibles.
“My philosophy is simple,” Gansey said Monday from the team’s training complex in Camden, New Jersey. “Build a culture rooted in character, work ethic, competitiveness, accountability and teamwork.”
While Gansey will undoubtedly consult numbers as he considers the many questions ahead for the Sixers, it was striking how often he highlighted factors that aren’t quantifiable. Safe to say he has a different perspective on the job than former Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who co-founded the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and habitually examined data in search of edges.
Gansey’s background influences his outlook. He played four years of college basketball — two seasons at St. Bonaventure, two at West Virginia — and had a brief professional career before he went down the executive road.
“I think it’s helped me a lot throughout my career just because I’ve been in the locker room, I’ve been in wars, I’ve played with some of the guys that are still playing in this league a little bit in college,” Gansey said of his playing résumé. “I think my understanding of what they’re going through day-to-day … they’re going through training camp, or they’re exhausted, or the travel, or their confidence is low.
“I can relate to them … and say, ‘Hey, I didn’t play at the highest level, but I played at a pretty good level.’ They can come to me and ask me questions, and I can relate to them a little bit more than maybe someone who didn’t play.”
Sixers executive vice president of basketball operations Jameer Nelson and VP of player personnel Prosper Karangwa sat in the second row listening to Gansey. Both have playing histories, too. Gansey noted with a smile that he was winless against Nelson and the Saint Joseph’s Hawks.
According to Bob Myers — the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment and the man who conducted the Sixers’ front office search — Gansey requested to have Nelson as his No. 2.
“Mike asked, ‘Can we keep Jameer? Can we elevate Jameer?’ … And then speaking to Jameer, asking him if he’s ready for it,” Myers said in a post-press conference session with reporters. “One thing you may or may not know is how much he led as a player. And I just think leadership is so important. To have those two guys together moving forward is a tremendous advantage.”
Nelson certainly sounded on the same page as Gansey about the importance of strong people outside of any statistics.
“You have to have people in the building that want to be here,” Nelson said. “That’s where culture and an environment starts. And then you just continue to grow and build. … It’s not rocket science. You treat people a certain way, people work hard, and the expectation is to continue to grow and to help people internally grow. And also, let’s do it together.
“I just want to be with people I enjoy, people I can vibe with, I can cry with and laugh with — all the emotions that are going to come with the job. It’s hard to win. Whether you’re a player, an executive or a coach, it’s hard to win in this league. You need good people around you that have the same vision and the same alignment.”
As far as details and plans, Gansey did not raise eyebrows or share much. Next on the calendar is Round 1 of the NBA draft on June 23.
“We’ve got pick 22 in the draft,” Gansey said. “We’ve got to hit on that and get a good player there. And just building depth. We’ve got to get guys in here in free agency that we like. We’ve got to get minimum guys.
“And then the big part is just internal development. With Tyrese (Maxey), VJ (Edgecombe) and some of our other young guys, they’ve got to get better, too. I think it’s internal growth, 22, free agency, and trying to add as much depth as we can to this roster.”
Gansey said the Sixers will aim for “a combination of best player available and fit with our roster” at No. 22. He’s very familiar with draft preparation and decision-making from his time with the Cavaliers.
“I was there 15 years,” he said. “Worked my way up, intern to GM. I give (Cavs president of basketball operations) Koby Altman a lot of credit … and the Gilbert family. They let me do my thing. I had a ton of responsibilities. I think nowadays, when people can be a G League GM, that’s a huge stepping stone in their career. I was able to do that and it helped me when I became assistant GM, and then all the way to GM.
“I did all the day-to-day. I was talking to players, to agents, collaborating with the head coach. Me and Kenny (Atkinson) had a great relationship; we talked every day. And then obviously dealing with ownership. So I haven’t been the No. 1 guy, but I’ve been right there with Koby and Koby put a lot on my plate. I was very fortunate to be able to work as much as I did.”
One of the challenges to come for Gansey’s front office will be successfully evaluating the personal qualities that matter and don’t show up in box scores.
Can Gansey and company pinpoint self-aware, team-first young players with the hunger to improve and the tools to make massive progress? That seems to be the idea, even if there’s no formula.
“Part of it’s getting (them) in here, obviously,” Gansey said. “But you’ve got to do the work. With the draft coming up, for example, you’re talking to plenty of coaches, people that have been around these guys. You want to bring in good people here. If they don’t want to be here or we don’t feel they can fit with our culture, then we don’t want them.
“We want people that want to be in Philadelphia. And I want competitiveness, I want toughness, I want guys that hate to lose. Those are the kind of people I’m going to try to target and want to bring on to this roster.”
| # | Наименование новости | Тональность | Информативность | Дата публикации |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sixers hiring Mike Gansey as new president of basketball operations | 0 | 5 | 29-05-2026 |
| 2 | Nelson gets ‘goosebumps' from rise up Sixers' ranks | 5 | 7 | 10-06-2026 |
| 3 | Report: Jameer Nelson, Matt Lloyd among candidates to lead Sixers' front office | 0 | 6 | 21-05-2026 |
| 4 | Diving into Mike Gansey's history, path to leading Sixers' front office | 0 | 6 | 30-05-2026 |
| 5 | Myers says Sixers must ‘find an identity' under new front office regime | 0 | 5 | 09-06-2026 |
| 6 | Daryl Morey out as Sixers president of basketball operations | 0 | 7 | 12-05-2026 |
| 7 | Report: Mike Gansey and Nick U'Ren ‘names to watch' in Sixers' search | 0 | 5 | 19-05-2026 |
| 8 | 6 things we learned from Bob Myers and Josh Harris' Sixers press conference | 0 | 5 | 14-05-2026 |
| 9 | Takeaways on Morey's track record leading Sixers' front office | 0 | 5 | 13-05-2026 |
| 10 | Final mock draft roundup for Sixers with 22nd pick | 0 | 5 | 23-06-2026 |
