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Sixers fans have been waiting and waiting for changes in the front office to be made, but now, the wait...continues. However, Phil Jabour, the Sixers Director of Scouting, has been hired by the Sacramento Kings as the new VP of Player Personnel.
New Kings GM Monte McNair is reshaping his front office, hiring former Hawks GM Wes Wilcox as assistant GM, Philadelphia’s Phil Jabour as VP of Player Personnel and OKC’s Paul Johnson as Director of Basketball Operations, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 14, 2020
The most common reaction on Sixers Twitter to the news of Jabour’s departure was “Who?” — but Jabour has been one of the longer-tenured members of the front office. He was originally hired by Sam Hinkie in 2014 as the Director of Scouting Development.
Along with Brett Brown, the Sixers have now lost two of the remaining people hired by Sam Hinkie. Great stuff! pic.twitter.com/ybw1Zss3rC
— Ben Detrick (@bdetrick) October 14, 2020
Jabour spent three seasons in that role, followed by two seasons as a scout, before being promoted to Director of Scouting for the 2019-20 season. Prior to his arrival in Philadelphia, he spent two years with the Magic and five years with the Rockets.
For all the frustration in Philadelphia regarding the front office, scouting is an area where the team has actually done fairly well. There would be more cause for celebration if the Director of Overpaying in Trades and Free Agency was leaving town.
Elton Brand promised a “thorough assessment” of the front office. However, so far, the exits of Jabour and Marc Eversley, hired as the new Bulls general manager, are the only changes to the upper levels of the organization. A pessimist might conclude that the couple individuals deemed positive contributors by league outsiders have been poached, and the Sixers front office is even weaker than before. Fortunately, there’s no room for pessimism in Philadelphia sports and I’m sure this will all turn out swimmingly.