I agree. I remember there was this GM thought he could tank 3 straight years and get some star players for his rebuilding team. But even though he got good players, that culture of losing destroyed his team. I mean, you just can't win if you suck for multiple years. I think his name was Sam Presti. Not sure what he's doing now though. Probably fired for instilling that losing culture.
0 rings later . Jk, like I said, tanking can have strong upside...but there are other ways. Morey never went full tank mode and look where we are now
Does it really matter? These are all PROSPECTS. They might be useful in trades based on upside but will it really result in a team worth a damn? In the East -- I guess you never know.
True. I'm not saying I would rule out tanking if I was a GM, but it's sort of a slap in the face to the guys who actually have ambition on your team. I'm not a big fan of it. Poor Thaddeus Young, eh? Lol
How is that relevant? What's going on with the Sixers is not what Presti did at OKC. Explain the similarities of drafting KD, WB, Harden/Ibaka to selecting two consecutive injured top 3 players along with the most brazen tank job in years. Presti fired PJ Carlesimo during a 3-29 start and they went 20-30 the rest of the way. Hinkie would have kept the same coach and finished 8-74.
the similarity is in the strategy. both tanked for top picks in order to get top notch talent. If the lottery balls had fallen Philly's way, they could've had wiggins or Parker this year. 1-2 more seasons of tanking and their roster will be loaded with good, young, cheap talent.
Just need the right coach to motivate them through it. Look at the Astros right now...years of losing, but the talent is starting to shine through. I think we will see one more year of tanking, and then they will start putting the pieces together.
Spending the 3rd pick on a big man with a stress fracture in his foot is a big risk. I don't know if I can say this was a good draft for them for another few years.
Good point. I would have been worried as hell if we'd done the same thing, considering what we went through with Yao. Still, if Embiid can recover and stay healthy for years, Henkie will look like a genius. He's busy rebuilding like crazy. I get the feeling that doing what Henkie is doing was a topic of many conversations with Morey about, "What road do we take to rebuild?" Morey took one road, his protégé took another. It would thrill me if we end up playing the Sixers in the finals in perhaps 4 years. Mainly because we'd be in the damn finals (hopefully again - I'm being optimistic here), but also because the back story would be a trip. What's Clutch's software business called? Two Roads Media? We're seeing two roads taken by two driven GM's. The results will speak for themselves. www.tworoadsmedia.com
it's a crap shoot... sometimes a Kevin Durant falls in your lap... and some times you draft a Greg Oden...
This. Is there anyone in Philly that doesn't feel somewhat nervous about this draft? Its such high risk/high reward that its impossible to say whether they struck gold or bombed. However.... what did they miss out on in taking Embiid???.... Exum? Gordon? Smart?... I dunno that its a risk that isn't justified when you look at the talent upside plummet after the 3rd pick. At the end of the day, whether or not Hinkie took Gordon over Embiid, or Payton over Saric, the Sixers were going to suck next year regardless. You might as well go with the better prospects in Embiid & Saric. The hard truth for Sixers fans is that there is no silver bullet for the 2014/15 season regardless. Taking a more NBA ready prospect just to win an extra couple games would be fools gold. Taking the better prospects at the end of the day was always the smarter move regardless of what happens in 2014/15.
http://www.nba.com/sixers/live Hinkie presser, pretty obvious Embid won't we playing at all next season, like Noel last year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Hinkie said Embid injury isn't 4-6 month recovery, it's more like 5 to 8</p>— Bob Cooney (@BobCooney76) <a href="https://twitter.com/BobCooney76/statuses/482574135701540864">June 27, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
You guys are totally missing the point. Hinkie of course wanted Parker or Wiggins but was not possible. So they end up...just like last year... getting a player that fell to them that is the most talented of the entire draft. They are not competing for a title next year with or without a top rookie on the court. Period. He is looking to 2 years at the minimum. Drafting the way he is ... is absolutely brilliant. The fact that his owner has the balls to let him do it is what is shocking...not what he is doing. Hinkie has the power every GM wishes. Do whats best for the team without any repercussions because of public opinion. In 3 years They could have one of the best 4/5 combos in the league on cheap rookie deals, they have a ton of second rounders now on cheap parsons like deals...that you can expect 1 or 2 will work out... they have a couple of really good euro prospects. Basically its going to be like a light switch in 2-3 years where they have an insanely talented core for cheap...with cap to buy top free agents and still having not only their own draft picks but other teams. To be honest what he is doing is pretty much unprecedented. Morey himself said what Hinkie is doing is the best way to rebuild.
What a Hinkie draft. The fact Hinkie used ALL of his 2nd round picks (5 of them) on player is amazing to me.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sixers?src=hash">#Sixers</a> Hinkie thinks Embiid is more of a 4. 'If they (JE and Noel) can play together, they will be an absolute menace at the rim.' <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/76ers?src=hash">#76ers</a></p>— Tom Moore (@tmoore76ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/tmoore76ers/statuses/482576563251449856">June 27, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I actually think Morey and Hinkie took the same route. The Rockets were in full tank mode prior to getting Harden. Morey gutted the team of talent when he traded Lowry and KMart, amnestied Scola, and allowed CLee and Dragic to leave in free agency. The only difference is that Morey was given the chance to get Harden and he took it. I think Hinkie would take that same chance if a young player like Harden was made available to him for some of his assets.
