The Philadelphia 76ers Are Good For The NBA

Nov 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Members of the military practice unfurling a large United States Flag for Veterans Day prior to a game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Machine

Teams do not have the margin of error to take chances on high reward high risk.  Successful teams need to play it safe to remain in the hunt, unsuccessful teams are on a limited time track to get in the running.  That places 29 teams in the hunt for the upper echelon of prospects available to the NBA.

Save one.

The  Philadelphia 76ers are the counter culture experience for virtually every professional sports team today.  Six of the twelve players to register minutes with the team in the early part of the season have been undrafted: Isaiah Canaan, T.J. McConnell , Robert Covington, Christian Wood, Phil Pressey, and JaKarr Sampson all endured an NBA draft where their name was never called.  But the Sixers did call them after the fact, did give them the opportunity to try out for an NBA roster, and did give them a spot on the roster for the team in the 2015-2016 season.

For this, NBA fans and many analysts are furious with the team.

Without the Sixers, the NBA doesn’t have that safety net for talent missed in initial assessments.  In the NFL, undrafted players comprise a significant portion of rosters, even on very successful teams like the Seattle Seahawks.  But in the NBA, there is essentially two rounds for each team to reload their talent.  That’s hardly favorable odds for the NBA to capture the talent of hopeful prospects who truly just need to get their foot in the NBA door to realize their full potential.

Next: The Factory