Philadelphia will see an entirely different team than last year, 8 new faces prove it
Philadelphia will see an entirely different team than last year, Eight new faces prove it
The Philadelphia 76ers were quietly (besides Ben Simmons) building their team during the off-season. Quiet in volume, loud in results.
You see, the Sixers are going to potentially have 8 new faces take the court for them in the 2016-17 season. Of that group, they could potentially have an entirely new set of faces assume their roles in the starting lineup.
Some will provide them with a big impact, others will try to fit into a role, but all will contribute.
Free Agency
Bryan Colangelo set out to surround Ben Simmons with shooters and veteran guards during free agency. He got the job done. The first person that would come to Philly is someone that Bryan had a previous relationship with, Jerryd Bayless. Jerryd has bounced around a lot during is 8 years in the NBA, being on 6 different teams. Yet, he has said that he really looks forward to playing with Ben Simmons. Jerryd being a career 37% 3 point shooter will really benefit him and the team.
Gerald Henderson (33% 3 point shooter) and Sergio Rodriguez (32% 3 point shooter) are another couple guards that signed with the Sixers in the off-season. Gerald said during media day that this team has the right attitude and mindset that a team needs. Sergio was in the NBA before, but didn’t feel like he was ready for it at the time, so he went to Spain. Sergio now said he is grateful for the Sixers to give him another chance, and really wants to show case his new self and new ability.
Buyout/Injury
The Sixers were also able to persuade Dario Saric (34% 3 point shooter) to come over to the NBA, and make his long anticipated debut. Dario showed flashes of great basketball IQ during the Olympics as well as a hard working mentality. Dario is a great addition to the team, he has excellent court vision, and has a respected jump shot so his defender cannot clog the paint.
Joel Embiid. The king of social media is finally healthy enough to play basketball and will not let anything get in his way. JoJo was nursing a broken foot injury prior to the draft which caused him to miss his rookie season. The bone didn’t heal properly, (due to beliefs he was still growing) so he had to sit out another whole season. Finally Joel can suit up and no one is happier than himself. He recently stated to Tom Moore – “I feel like the best player on the floor” so we will see.
Draft
The Sixers were able to acquire Ben Simmons, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, and undrafted Anthony Barber. TLC and Cat have a lot of potential around them, hopefully in a couple years their talents will grow as well as their roles on the team. They’re both spontaneous scores but need to work on other aspects of their game. Lastly, Ben. Ben has been compared to LeBron James, Magic Johnson, and Lamar Odom. But, the only player he should play like is Ben, he’s going to have pressure on him. He should just keep working on his own game and not get caught up in the media. If he can accomplish that, then he will become great, it’s that simple for a guy of his talent although it’s a lot easier to say it than do it.
Philadelphia will be able to see if Bryan Colangelo succeeded gathering these new players. Stats show that everything he did was the right move and the right thing for the team. Time will tell if he was able to work magic in the city of brotherly love, or setback the rebuilding process.