They have the 3rd overall pick this coming draft, as well as two highly potential big men who could pose as one of the best frontcourt big men tandem since Olajuwon/Sampson (Duncan/DRob). They have 6 players on guaranteed contract, 4 players with a team option for next year (2015/16) and 2 players with qualifying offers (2015/16). They have hella salary cap to work with. Assuming they draft either Mudiay or Russell their team could be very scary! Core would be: Embiid Noel Mudiay/Russell (or whoever they draft) Role players who are guaranteed on the roster: Wroten Covington McGee Jerami Grant everyone else on the roster is either Team option or Qualifying offer Does Philadelphia have a chance of bringing in some key free agents to make the jump from lottery ping pong balls to playoff appearance? I would think they'd eventually have to make an 8th seed and show promise before any big name free agents would want to try their luck their, but anything can happen! Thoughts?
even if (and that's usually a big if, how it works in the nba) everything goes smooth, it will take yrs for them to be relevant again. barring injuries, new orleans is more of an immediate rising threat with anthony davis.
I like how the Sixers are building and if those young guys pan out they could be scary in a few years, but I think it'll take a few years.
I would agree with you guys, but remember this Sixers team is in the East, where as the Pelicans with Davis are in a much tougher west. I think they could easily finish with a close to .500 record next season. Brooklyn made the playoffs with a 38-44 record. Maybe I'm a bit overzealous.
Still can't believe we cut Robert, one of the players who was able to create his own shot...we gave up too soon! [youtube]qpIqPpfurfc[/youtube]
This reminds me a lot, a lot, of the Astros rebuilding strategy. The 76ers, much like the Astros, have had to endure: 1. Consecutive terrible seasons due to "tanking", resulting in top draft choices; 2. A fan base that becomes (understandably) extremely upset at the product they are seeing game-after-game and season-after-season; 3. Hired "great minds" from contending teams (that have implemented successful strategies) to spearhead their respective rebuilding phases (Jeff Luhnow from the STL Cardinals, and Sam Hinkie as DM's "right hand man" from our Houston Rockets) 4. Both teams have employed the "youth movement" playing their young guys to grow and develop together until they are good enough to acquire some big time free agents. The only real difference, that I've listed, in these two teams is that the Astros top selections, until their 2015 draft, have been #1 overall picks (because MLB, just like the NFL, gives the top selection to the team with the worst record) and the 76ers didn't earn the #1 pick due to the Draft Lottery.
maybe i misunderstood. but merely make it to the playoffs doesnt qualify as a "contender". new orleans, from what i can see, has a good chance to be the 2nd then okc team.
Fair evaluations. Perhaps contenders was too strong a word. Playoff hopefull vs rebuilding probably should have been the phrase
This isn't a bad comparison but MLB and the NBA are very different when it comes to team building. At the very least, the MLB draft is much more of a crap shoot than the NBA draft and even the top few picks typically require a couple of years before even making it to the majors. In addition, baseball is pretty forgiving when it comes to not having a dominant force on the team. As long as the squad is balanced and has a few above-average guys, you may find yourself competing for a playoff berth. The lack of a salary cap is huge. Whereas MLB teams can simply stuff a ton a of their guys in the minors and wait for them to pan out without debilitating cap repercussions, NBA teams must go the way of unguaranteed 2nd round picks or overseas stashed 1st rounders to achieve a similar (yet limited) result. From my understanding, the biggest thing that the Astros did was improve their farm system instead of trading them away for "proven" MLB talent. The Sixers are similar in that regard because of what they have done with guys like Jrue Holliday and Nerlens Noel. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't followed baseball in a while.
I hope the Wolves or the Lakers draft Russell just to F up the 76ers. I hate that team for tanking every year.
people shouldn't sleep on Noel. dude is going to be a STUD. was top 10 in steals last year. He averaged more steals per game than: Butler, Wall, MCW, Dipo, LBJ, Draymond, Teague
Only contenders for the tankathon. And they wont make the playoffs. Unless of course Embidd is the best center of the last 50 years and takes the league by storm. First they have to see if he can remain healthy and also how they could possible make the twin towers work. I dont think it can because Noel is useless away from the basket. The east next year will have Miami improved ( provided not half the starting lineup is out of the season again) Detroit improved Orlando definitely improved. Paul George will be back. There will be too many teams fighting for the last three spots again. If they manage not to be bottom three in the east again that would be an improvement. Its a team comprised of two rookies a sophomore convington and d leaguers right now.
What the Sixers are doing is nothing new, and there is no guarantee it will work. I remember the days when the Bulls were rebuilding and Clippers were rebuilding (in Clippers' case, eternally building). The Bulls had Marcus Fizer, Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford and Tyson Chandler (and Elton Brand the year before), all high draft picks based on years of tanking/sucking. And the Clippers had Corey Maggette, Lamar Odom, Michael Olowokandi, Quentin Richardson, Chris Wilcox, Andre Miller, Darius Miles... also all high draft picks based on years of tanking/sucking. Guess what, they never won anything with all those talents years after years. It wasn't until the Bulls finally got Derrick Rose, and Clippers got CP3 that they had their fortunes turned. And it took them a decade (or in Clippers' case, decades). I don't see any of Sixers' players having Derrick Rose/CP3 potential. Embiid (with health issues), Saric, Noel could be nice players, but not MVP candidates. Porzingis/Russell? They better hope so, but it's unlikely. I could see the Sixers rebuilding for a long, long time.
Tbh, if at least one of their two bigs with an injury issue pans out and stays healthy in the long run, I'll think they did well. As far as contending, I think a lot depends on this next draft. If they hit, they might get there in a few years.
There's a really big problem IMHo with the 76ers strategy...so far they still havent had that slam dunk future HOF superstar to lead the squad. If they luck out on Russell or if Porzingis turns out to be a superstar in the making then maybe they have a chance, the problem is they started tanking 4 years ago and still don't have anything to show for it, Hinkie keeps rolling up his assets year after and you can only do that so much before your first batch of rookies graduate from their rookie contracts and have to be paid. I was really high on the 76ers because I thought they'd be rebuilding OKC style but from the outside looking in it seems that Hinkie wants to be as bad as the ownership will let him...even if it means squandering lottery picks. I mean last year they had 2 really high picks and they waste them on Embiid (who would've been available lower than when 76ers picked him up) and Saric (ditto) just because these two guys are not going to be able to play the next season. Well now they have another pick and I don't know if they get Russell or Mudiay, I think they get Kristaps Porzingis and wait another year to tank again....except instead of OKC which spent 5 years collecting parts that fit their team 76ers keep getting Cs and PFs who will almost always skip their rookie year.
