76ers CEO Scott O'Neil believes the team's "long rebuilding process is finally over -- and the actual building has begun," something he will "tell anybody who’s willing to listen," according to Jared Shelly of PHILADELPHIA magazine. O'Neil said, "We don’t apologize for where we are. We love where we are. We don’t lay down and cower in the corner. We’ll scream it from the mountaintops. We love this plan and believe in it." O'Neil said that he thinks season-ticket holders are renewing at 90% because they are "excited to get good seats as the team builds." He also expects G Nik Stauskus "to be one of the team’s most marketable players this season." O'Neil said C Nerlens Noel is likely the most marketable player on the team right now due to his "personality, his smile, his hair." But he believes Noel, Stauskus and first-round draft pick F Jahlil Okafor will all have "different pockets of growing fanbases." Shelly noted the team's ad campaign this season, called "Since 1776," draws on "similarities between the American revolution and the Sixers' revolutionary rebuilding process." O'Neil: "We’re inventive. We’re different. We never take the traditional approach ever here. It’s very consistent with how we run this business and how we run this team. We are doing things differently -- and it’s a little polarizing at times -- but that’s OK because if you do what everybody else does, you get what everybody else gets. And we’re not interested in getting what everybody else gets." 76ers Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer Tim McDermott added, "We invited the fans into the process. ... What do they want us to be? Real, revolutionary, hard-spirited, tough-as-nails, passionate, authentic, vibrant and real. So I think we package that now in a go-to-market campaign that’s exciting and does feel really authentic to who we are" (PHILLYMAG.com, 10/26).
BUSINESS AS USUAL: In Philadelphia, David Sell writes the 76ers' off-court team business "looks promising." Team execs said that local revenue "is rising" because they have "invested in the business side" since Managing Owner Josh Harris' group bought the team in '11. Having a player payroll that is "near the league low also helps." O'Neil, with help from McDermott and CRO Chris Heck, said that he "was building a business operation that will push the Sixers higher when the on-court performance improves." Sell notes season-ticket sales "have doubled in the last two years," while DraftKings, StubHub, the Rothman Institute and Thomas Jefferson Univ. Hospital "are key sponsors this season," at more than $1M apiece (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10/28).
BURNING BRIDGES? In Philadelphia, Keith Pompey noted the 76ers have been "criticized for having just one 'basketball person' in its front office" in NBA D-League Delaware 87ers GM Brandon Williams, who played 18 games in the NBA. The 76ers "prefer to keep to themselves instead of joining the old boys' network." Some "argue that the Sixers are not establishing relationships with agents to become a major player in free agency in the future." One agent said that he "doesn't want his max-level players in Philadelphia." He is "open to his midlevel players signing with the Sixers only if they overpay." Pompey noted the team's "lone focus is on building something special that will sustain over a long period of time." However, the 76ers' "lack of relationships with agents could hinder their ability to attract max-level free agents next summer" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10/26).
