Finding A Solid Big Man Should Be Top Priority for Sixers

This is easier said than done. The team does have assets though. It’s quite obvious that this team is missing something down there. We need a solid rebounder. We need a blocker. We need a scorer. We need a defender. We don’t really have a player that can do all of these things. Now many fans and media members seem to look at Dwight Howard as the man to try and grab. I’m not feeling that though. For one thing, the Sixers would have to give up some solid pieces to get a trade done.

See, the Sixers play a balanced game. There are no superstars. And it works to their advantage most of the time. Again, they need a go-to guy in clutch situations but the go-to guy doesn’t necessarily have to be a big star. With that in mind, Sixers should build on what they have going. What I mean is, get a player that is just below star level. Or at low star level. I’m not aiming low here but in this scenario, the Sixers wouldn’t have to kill the balanced roster to acquire a quality big man.

Paul Millsap is a player that comes to mind. He’s not quite a star, but he’s solid enough that the Sixers would be able to dump it down to him for some points during a shooting slump. Kevin Love…maybe. Timber Wolves probably wouldn’t give him up. But again, Sixers should stick with this balanced attack thing. I’m not saying these are the players they should go after, just giving examples of skill sets the team could use.

Look at the Nuggets. They have that same balance. Nene isn’t a great big man but he’s solid enough to fit in with the Nuggets and produce for the team. He doesn’t have to be at a high level because everybody else is sharing the load. And at this point, the Sixers should do the same thing. I really am a fan of what this team is doing. Would Howard ruin it because he’d be taking the ball? No, he’d ruin it because the roster would lose some solid pieces. Only go for him if he overwhelms the players loss to the point where the Sixers have a real shot at winning the championship. If not, then never mind.

Sixers have to act now. Maybe not now, but in a year or too. Brand isn’t going to be playing well soon. I’m not 100% sold on Spencer Hawes. As lovely as Niloka Vucevic and Lavoy Allen have been, they should not be starting nor being counted on as a big piece in this team’s championship plan. In a couple of years, the interior of this team will be nothing. You can balance all you want but this team will start sliding down the standings if they don’t get a solid big guy very soon.

Again, the biggest problems the team has is rebounding and scoring in half court settings. Hawes did those two things fairly well before the injuries. What about defense? Yeah, even though this team is best in the NBA in defense, there are way too many easy shots being made once a player can get to the rim. Other team’s big’s eat our guys alive.

Let me point out here that one scenario that is possible is that Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, and Andre Iguodala become so good, that the other areas can be just average and still get the job done (LOL). I would use the Heat as an example but they haven’t won anything yet…

Who should the Sixers give up for the big man? Remember, salary isn’t going to be so high. By the way, that question was more rhetoric and I don’t have an answer for it. The ideal player to get is someone under 27 years of age. I know, there are not many bigs to grab like that. I wanted to go after Greg Oden but seems like he’s becoming more and more of a risk. He’s still young and stats show he actually makes a huge positive impact on the court. He’d be cheap to get and if it doesn’t work out, your salary cap isn’t destroyed. I’d rather see a big man who has limited injury history.

Ok so how possible is all of this? How will the Sixers pull this off? Trades, signings, drafting. There are many scenarios that I could layout. One concern I have is the front office. Almost all of the members are new on this team. I mean that almost none of these guys built this roster. We can’t give them much credit there. So, I’m trying to figure out where their mindset is.

At the end of the day, the biggest hole the team has is a big man who can give very good production. It’s not going to be easy. So I’m not going to tell them who they should get. I’m not going to offer trade scenarios. It would take to long and then I’ll start losing my mind with so many different ideas flying through my head. As long as the big can function with this team and give us the things we need, it’s fine with me. At the end of the day, getting the big man will raise the ceiling that the team has banged their heads on constantly this season. And so, that should be top priority.