Mar 29, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center
Nerlens Noel(4) walks off the court after an 87-86 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
2016 Or Bust
But as I conclude this story, I’m looking forward to that 2016 roster. Unless something incredible happens, the Philadelphia 76ers will quite likely have a starting roster and some depth of first round draft picks, all bunched up from 2013-2016. That core, if kept intact, could remain together and dominate the sport for the next fifteen years.
I won’t paint this as “likely”, but the Philadelphia 76er president and general manager Sam Hinkie has stacked the deck in our favor as much as humanly possible. Some picks don’t pan out. Some prospects simply are not on the board when the team drafts. That’s the suspense, and the drama.
But the team will find NBA talent to fill roles they feel are their strongest needs in that 2016 draft. If the team has a pick and the best player available is not an immediate need, there is no rule requiring the team to move to a player with lower projections. Take the talent. Grow the team into the best it can be.
We’ve seen the adeptness of Hinkie to use the rules of the NBA to his advantage. He’s set up the team to get the maximum benefit from the rules, the draft, and the CBA. From two years of bad basketball? Seems like we got the better end of the deal. Now we need to assemble that championship team and see what all this waiting has been about!