Once upon a time, the Sixers held NBA Draft workouts which were open to the media.
Back when Sam Hinkie was running things, those workouts took place at PCOM in a tiny gym not befitting of an NBA franchise. Plenty of talented players came through that building. It’s where Ben Simmons had his pre-draft workout. There was even a year when Villanova’s Josh Hart and St. Joe’s DeAndre’ Bembry squared off.
Vince Rozman was a big part of Hinkie’s front office, largely helping with draft prep. Rozman was elevated from scouting coordinator — a position he took way back in 2006 under Billy King — to director of basketball operations and scouting innovation in 2013. Even when Hinkie left and the team opened up its state-of-the-art facility in Camden, New Jersey, Rozman remained. He became an even bigger fixture, speaking to the gathered media about prospects coming through that day. He came across sharp but personable.
Fast forward to 2026 and Rozman has been on quite the journey. Should the next step in it be running the Philadelphia 76ers? In a word — yes.
Bob Myers said last week he’s looking for someone to run things “day-to-day” while he’ll have a say in “high-level” decisions around the draft, free agency and trade deadline. His search appears to be off to a positive start. The list of reported candidates is vast and varied. There are plenty of folks with connections to Myers from the Golden State Warriors, some hotter names on the market and a couple shoot-your-shot candidates.
Of all of them, Rozman might have the best resume to lead the franchise into the future and (eventually) build around the backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
After his promotion by Hinkie, Rozman was elevated by … whoever was running the front office in 2018 to senior director of scouting. He was promoted once more to VP of scouting in 2019, a position he continued to hold when Daryl Morey took things over ahead of the 2020-21 season.
It was a frenetic time for the Sixers prior to that (relatively speaking). Elton Brand was still considered the team’s lead executive. Along with ownership, the Sixers hired Doc Rivers as head coach to replace Brett Brown. A few months later, they brought on Morey after he left his longtime post with the Houston Rockets.
The 2020 NBA Draft was fast approaching after Morey’s hire. Rozman was already leading the charge on the organization’s draft prep and strategy. He was then charged with getting Morey up to speed.
“It’s been great, honestly. … I think we’ve all been kind of in a firefight, because he’s been here for two weeks and we need to catch him up,” Rozman said in November of 2020. “We felt really, really prepared to be able to do it. The good thing is we tend to think similarly on players, so that’s helpful. If you think of it from Daryl’s standpoint, he’s coming in, he needs to catch up on the roster, he needs to catch up on our scouting staff, the front office, the draft.
“I think we’re all lucky that he’s obviously well-qualified to do it. But I don’t know that the process has necessarily changed. Instead of informing (general manager Elton Brand) and talking through all the draft-related possible transactions or players or what have you with Elton and our scouting staff, it’s now with Elton and Daryl, and obviously (executive vice president of basketball operations) Peter Dinwiddie, as well, to be ready for (draft night).”
That night was not only Morey’s best running the Sixers, it was one of the best nights a front office has had in franchise history.
Morey changed the composition of the roster by moving off the ill-fitting Al Horford and Josh Richardson. Danny Green and Seth Curry were acquired and both started for a team that was the No. 1 seed in the East in 2021-22. The team also selected Tyrese Maxey with the 21st pick, arguably the biggest draft steal in franchise history. They also selected Isaiah Joe and Paul Reed, two players who have carved out NBA roles on good teams.
The following offseason, Morey promoted Rozman to assistant general manager. Unfortunately, the Sixers didn’t have as much draft luck in 2021, selecting Jaden Springer, Filip Petrusev and Charles Bassey. Bassey was the only player who was on an NBA roster to end this season. The players selected after Springer make it a tougher pill to swallow.
The following season, Rozman decided to spread his wings after 16 years in Philly. He took a job with the Oklahoma City Thunder as VP of identification and intelligence. He’s spent the last few seasons largely running the draft room for Sam Presti, one of the best executives in the sport. Not to rub salt in any wounds, but it wouldn’t be surprising to hear Rozman’s initial scouting of Jared McCain as a draft prospect was involved in that trade process.
One of the Thunder’s biggest recent draft wins is Ajay Mitchell. He was initially taken by the New York Knicks in the second round, but OKC maneuvered to acquire the young guard out of UC Santa Barbara. In just his second NBA season, Mitchell has been a huge part of the Thunder’s success, playing a pivotal sixth-man role in the regular season and playoffs. Folks around the league have wondered aloud if Mitchell is primed for a James Harden-type situation, eventually departing OKC to star elsewhere.
Mitchell is brought up here because these are the types of wins the Sixers need. The organization is locked into three max contracts. It will likely prove difficult for any new executive to find a way out of the deals for Joel Embiid and Paul George, so perhaps the best person for the job is the one who can find ways to build on the margins. Mitchell was initially on a two-way contract before proving his worth and getting converted to a standard NBA deal.
Rozman has proven to be an excellent talent evaluator, able to find stars, role players and diamonds in the rough. He has familiarity with the organization, but he’s also been working under arguably the best executive in basketball.
For you Process true believers, Rozman comes with the ultimate stamp of approval.
Will Bob Myers hand Vince Rozman the keys?
It would be really smart.
