The Sixer Sense
Fansided

76ers Brown Pulls Plug On Power Forwarding Jahlil Okafor

By Bret Stuter

Jan 16, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel (4) reacts with head coach Brett Brown after his score during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel (4) reacts with head coach Brett Brown after his score during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 2, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie (far left) watches as center Joel Embiid (21) walks out of the tunnel on crutches prior to a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 2, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie (far left) watches as center Joel Embiid (21) walks out of the tunnel on crutches prior to a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Is A Trade Inevitable?

As much as I want all three big men to remain on this team, right now it appears to be a race against time. Can we truly expect the players to reach an “AHA!” moment despite the challenges?

"“I can’t quit on that now,” Brown said. “To just say you’re not this and you’re never going to be this at 21 years old is just so reckless and wrong and naive on my part. You have Joel Embiid, you have Jahlil Okafor, you have Nerlens Noel. “Every sort of gut feel, if you were going to try to win the championship now, says you’d split them up and off we go. We’ll talk about it until (the April 13 season finale). Nerlens is going to have to find Kevin Love or Dirk Nowitzki. That’s what we’re going to do for a while and then you will see that split up, but I’m not abandoning it completely.”"

But conventional wisdom will creep into the Sixers thinking and their long term strategy. The players are both working off the same instincts. With just Brett Brown at the helm, patience would win the day. But Jerry Colangelo and Mike D’Antoni now are seated around that table, and they are mainstream NBA. And what does an unnamed NBA executive say about this team? Well, one found reason to speak about the Sixers in early December:

"“They can’t play together. I just don’t see it. Watch them defensively. Their instincts are both to defend the paint, because that is exactly what they’ve been doing all their lives. But here’s the problem. When the Sixers miss a shot or commit a turnover, both Noel and Okafor run back on defense and instinctively run to the rim, which they have been taught all their lives. Problem is, there is a Dirk Nowitzki or LaMarcus Aldridge or Kevin Love spotting up, waiting to get a wide-open shot. “I don’t know if they can figure that out. The advantage to it is that Brett has been around this situation before when he was in San Antonio and they were figuring out how to best get along with (Tim) Duncan and (David) Robinson. Of course, those are two Hall of Fame players. But they were also different types of players so you had a lot more to work with than you might with Noel and Okafor. They’re both still so young and probably will get a lot better, but right now you are trying to piece together two guys who are fives (centers). Noel isn’t a power forward. He needs to be near the rim where he is an extremely good defender.” – an unnamed NBA executive"

Next: Speculate