Elton Brand can connect with Fortune 500 business leaders, and he can connect with players in a locker room.

That ability to command the respect of NBA owners with his business savvy and relate to players due to his long career in the league is why the Philadelphia 76ers hired Brand as their new general manager.

Brand agreed in principle to the job Tuesday, two people with direct knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly until the Sixers make an official announcement.

The search for a new GM to replace Bryan Colangelo, who was fired over a Twitter scandal, included Utah Jazz assistant general manager Justin Zanik and Houston Rockets executive vice president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas.

Brand, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 draft, spent five seasons with the Sixers, and joined the Sixers as player development consultant following his retirement from the game in 2016. He spent last season as general manager of the Sixers’ G-League team, the Delaware Blue Coats.

The Sixers also promoted Alex Rucker to executive vice president of basketball operations in a front office that includes assistant general manager Ned Cohen and senior vice president of player personnel Marc Eversley – all of whom are holdovers from the Colangelo regime.

The Sixers sought a general manager who also could work in a collaborative environment, according to those with knowledge of the situation. The Sixers ownership likes keeping the positive synergy already created by those still on staff.

Brand, 39, joins a long – and often impressive – list of former players to lead a team’s front office: Pat Riley, Magic Johnson, Danny Ainge, Joe Dumars, Larry Bird, Mitch Kupchak and Rod Thorn. Riley, Ainge, Dumars and Kupchak have all won titles as executives.

Several former players hold or have held other roles in the front office, and Brand made a rapid ascent from his playing days to front-office boss. The Sixers are hoping Brand can take his basketball knowledge and lead them to the next level – which includes competing for a championship.

The Sixers have some of the pieces in place to help Brand. This job – which unexpectedly became open when Colangelo’s wife was blamed for sending team- and player-sensitive tweets under pseudonyms – was coveted by executives.

The Sixers have one of the best young teams in the league with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, Markelle Fultz and Robert Covington, and lost to Boston in the second round of the 2018 playoffs. The Sixers also have a gem in Coach Brett Brown, who guided the team through disappointing seasons while making sure players improved and remained focused amid the losing.

They are in position to be Eastern Conference contenders the next five seasons. They have drafted well and built a strong foundation from which to build. Phialdelphia also has a friendly salary-cap situation and will be active in the free-agent market following the 2018-19 season. Sixers ownership, led by Josh Harris and David Blitzer, are on record to USA TODAY Sports saying they’re willing to pay the luxury tax under the right circumstances.

Given Brand’s stellar reputation as a player, teammate and his relationship with players, there is belief he can help make the Sixers a free-agent destination and give Philadelphia a chance to win its first NBA title since 1983.

Follow Zillgitt on Twitter @jeffzillgitt