Blue Coats, GM Jameer Nelson work to ‘Be water’ and ‘weather the storm’

Blue Coats, GM Jameer Nelson work to ‘Be water’ and ‘weather the storm’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Elton Brand ended up guiding Jameer Nelson down a path he’d once walked himself.

After spending 14 years as an NBA point guard, Nelson was searching for a new role.

Brand had the perspective of shifting from player to front office executive — first Sixers player development consultant, then Delaware 87ers general manager, then Sixers GM.

“Initially, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, whether it was front office, coach, media, whatever,” Nelson told NBC Sports Philadelphia in a phone interview. “I just knew I wanted to stay around the game. Elton and I had been talking for a couple of years just back and forth about what I wanted to do. And he was willing to help me step foot in the right direction — step in a direction, in general.

“So I did, and he’s the one that brought me on from the beginning, got me in the building and everything. Over the years, we’ve been seeing what I like, my value. … He’s played a huge role in my growth and my front office experience.”

Nelson, a Philadelphia native and Saint Joseph’s great, joined Brand’s team in 2020 as Delaware Blue Coats assistant general manager/Sixers scout. He’s just completed his first regular season as Delaware’s GM.

The Blue Coats play a first-round, single-elimination G League playoff game Tuesday night against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. In a league characterized by rapid, unpredictable turnover, they’ve been exceptionally successful of late — runner-up in 2021 and 2022, champions in 2023.

Looking through ‘a different lens’ 

As Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey knows well, strong coaching and savvy style of play can be especially advantageous in the G League.

While the Blue Coats haven’t been as experimental as the pace-pushing, three-point-happy Rio Grande Valley Vipers teams led by Chris Finch and Nick Nurse, they’ve clearly found good head coaches.

Connor Johnson, who helmed that 2021 team starring G League MVP Paul Reed, is now an Oklahoma City Thunder assistant. Coby Karl got…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/blue-coats-gm-jameer-nelson-133242751.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-04-02 13:32:42

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