Old Brand a new idea for Sixers

Hey, did you hear the one about the Sixers signing forward Elton Brand to a free agent contract?

No, really, we’re not kidding. It’s not a joke. Elton Brand is coming back to the Sixers. Why?

Why would the Sixers sign a 36-year-old forward who is way past his prime? And why would Brand come out of retirement to sign with the worst team in the NBA?

To give back to the game he loves and be a mentor to Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid. That’s what Brand wrote in a first-person account for Sports illustrated’s “The Cauldron.”

Brand wrote that he was never really a mentor to younger players during the first part of his 16-year-career that included a four-year stop in Philly from 2008-2012.

“I was simply too busy following the NBA blueprint that had been engrained in me from the beginning: Play well, keep your head down, offend as few people as possible, and get paid,” Brand wrote.

The move makes sense. Who better to mentor Okafor, Noel and Embiid, if he comes back, on what it means to be a professional than the guy who was the first pick in the 1999 NBA Draft and a consummate pro throughout his career?

Minnesota’s rookie center Karl Anthony Towns has future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Garnett to show him the ropes. Who could Okafor, Noel and Embiid turn to when things get tough? No one, until Brand decided to come out of retirement.

Young players need guidance. You can’t draft a bunch of 19- and 20-year-olds, throw them on the court and expect them to succeed. Nor can you expect them to know how to deal with their new-found wealth.

That’s where players like Brand and Ish Smith come in. They’ve been there and done that and can pass on that experience and wisdom to the next generation.