Elton Brand, the 76ers general manager, was asked Tuesday if seeing the Toronto Raptors win the NBA title this season makes him hungrier.
Kawhi Leonard's 15-foot fadeaway jumper at the buzzer lifted the Raptors to a 92-90 victory over the Sixers in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at the Scotiabank Arena.
Toronto went on to defeat the Golden State Warriors in six games to win the franchise first NBA title.
"Maybe (going to) overtime, and possibly being us (in the finals), but hats off to the champs," Brand said of the Sixers being so close to winning a title, before adding Raptors president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster "did a great job putting that team together, they did a great job coaching and then the players played. Hats off to the champs. ... It just shows me we were close, we are close."
So, Brand's goal this summer is to get better through the draft and free agency to be able to compete at that level.
" It definitely hurts," he said of losing that heartbreaker to the eventual champions. "From the players, the coaches, my staff we want to grow and get better."
