On July 9, 2008, the 76ers signed power forward Elton Brand to a 5 year, $79.795 million-dollar contract. They were able to sign him after trading Rodney Carney, and renouncing their rights to all their unrestricted free agents. Brand had originally opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, looking to re-sign with them. But Elton saw that the 76ers offered him more money (he regarded their offer as the "Philly-Max"), and a better chance at winning an NBA Championship playing in the Eastern Conference. This move has been the subject of controversy since there were rumors that he and Baron Davis had made a friendly agreement to play together for the Clippers. Later the team signed free agent point guard Royal Ivey of the Milwaukee Bucks, Kareem Rush from the Indiana Pacers, and then signed former Sixer Theo Ratliff after Jason Smith's injury. Donyell Marshall was signed on September 2, 2008 after he stated that he wanted to go back home to his agent and end his career in the city of brotherly love. Rush, Ivey, Ratliff and Marshall were all paid the veteran's minimum wage because of their one-dimensional play, but they were to be contributors to a team on the rise. During the offseason they also re-signed valuable restricted free agents Louis Williams and Andre Iguodala for 5 yr/$25 million and 6 yr/$80 million, respectively.
However, the Sixers couldn't find the form that pushed them to the playoffs last year. The Sixers started the year with an uninspiring 9–14 record before firing head coach Maurice Cheeks on December 13. Assistant GM Tony DiLeo took over and the Sixers gradually improved. They finished the season with a 41–41 record, with a 32–27 record under DiLeo. Brand's first season with the Sixers ended early with a right shoulder injury that required surgery. Despite the loss of Brand, the Sixers earned a playoff berth with a 90–95 win against the Detroit Pistons on April 4, 2009, at home.
In the first round, they faced the Orlando Magic. Three of the first four games of the series provided late-game heroics. Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young made game-winning shots in Games 1 and 3, respectively, while Orlando's Hedo TürkoÄŸlu provided the game-winner in Game 4. Just like in the previous year's playoffs, the Sixers led 2–1 after three games. But the Magic went on to win three straight to eliminate the Sixers from the playoffs.
It was also during the season that the Sixers played one home game at their old home, the Wachovia Spectrum. The Sixers won 104–101 over the Chicago Bulls on March 13, 2009. The game was played to provide the final curtain call on the Spectrum, which was scheduled to be imploded on New Year's Eve 2009.
For the 2009 offseason, the Sixers drafted UCLA point guard Jrue Holiday with the 17th pick. The Sixers also traded power forward Reggie Evans to the Toronto Raptors for a three-point specialist, small forward Jason Kapono, who had won back-to-back three-point shootouts in 2007 and 2008. 21] This offseason also marked the return of the 1977–1997 76ers logo, along with a redesigned court and new uniforms updating the 1982–83 jerseys.
On December 2, 2009, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that they had signed Allen Iverson to a one-year prorated $1.3 million non-guaranteed contract. His second debut with the Sixers was spoiled by the Nuggets, the team he was traded to in 2006, in the same week of his return to Philadelphia. In the 93–83 loss, Iverson had 11 points, six assists, and five rebounds.
However, the euphoria that greeted Iverson's return to the 76ers faded quickly. On February 22, Iverson announced he was leaving the 76ers indefinitely to attend to his daughter's illness, and a few weeks later the 76ers announced that Iverson would not be returning for the rest of the season.
The 76ers finished with a record of 27–55, its first 50-loss season since 1998. Most cited the reason behind this as the players' inability to play within Eddie Jordan's Princeton offense, with several players unhappy with his system. Hours after the 76ers' last game at Orlando on April 14, the team fired Jordan after only one season.
On May 18, 2010, the NBA Draft Lottery was held. With the 76ers holding the sixth-best odds at receiving the top pick, they managed to land the second pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, beating out the Warriors, Kings, Timberwolves, and Nets, who all had better odds. Two days later, Doug Collins was named head coach of the 76ers. Collins previously played for the Sixers, and coached the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, and the Washington Wizards. On June they picked Evan Turner with the second overall pick of the draft.
The Sixers started the season with an uninspiring 3-13 mark, but started turning things around, winning 38 of the last 66 games to finish with a 41-41 record. They clinched a playoff berth on April 1, 2011, their third in the last four years. The 76ers valiantly competed, but ultimately fell to the Miami Heat in the first round in five games.
On July 13, 2011, Comcast-Spectacor reached an agreement to sell the 76ers to an investment group lead by Joshua Harris. Harris' group paid $280 million for the franchise. The sale did not include any ownership stake in the Flyers or Comcast Sportsnet. The Sixers will continue to play their home games at the Wells Fargo Center for the foreseeable future. Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith are notable minority owners. The new ownership group decided to retain Head Coach Doug Collins and President of Basketball Operations Rod Thorn. Ed Stefanski, who served as the team's General Manager since 2007, was relieved of his duties.
Harris and the rest of the ownership group held a press conference at the Palestra in October 2011 to introduce themselves to the Philadelphia media. Adam Aron was also named CEO of the team. Aron announced many fan-friendly initiatives at the press conference including a significant restructuring of ticket prices. He also introduced a new marketing campaign. The team adopted a new slogan: Passionate. Intense. Proud. The new marketing campaign emphasizes the 76ers' storied history. The franchise has the third most wins and third most playoff appearances in NBA history.
The 2011-2012 season was delayed into December and the Sixers did not hold their home opener until January 6, 2012. The home opener marked the debut of an improved in game presentation at the Wells Fargo Center. Hip Hop was retired as the team's mascot. The 76ers are now off to a 20-10 start and lead the Atlantic Division, there motto is "Passionate. Intense. Proud." - and some in the know think that this 2011 team could contend for the Eastern Conference Finals
