As Philadelphia 76ers Improve, Free Agency Becomes An Option

A Land of Opportunity

Before we go down the path of placing the Sixers organization into an unflattering light, let’s consider the fact that the Sixers afford opportunity to players who likely do not get that opportunity elsewhere. It’s that risk which generates the reward of multi-year contracts. So why don’t NBA teams copy the Sixers organization?

Impatience.  No other team has the fortitude, the patience, and the resolve to endure what this team has endured on this path. National media publicly ridicule the Sixers methods at a hope to drive up their ratings. ESPN Steven Smith proclaimed Philadelphia would be better off without the the 76ers, and encouraged the NBA commissioner to ban the Sixers from playing basketball.  So much for objective basketball analysis from national media.   Far too many have proclaimed that the Sixers have “taken it too far”.

Let’s define what “It” is.   The Philadelphia 76ers have a 15 man roster.  Of that total, 33% of the players were undrafted (Robert Covington, T. J. McConnell, JaKarr Sampson, Ish Smith, and Hollis Thompson).  27% were drafted in the second round (Carl Landry, Richaun Holmes, Isaiah Canaan, and Jerami Grant).   60% of the current starting 76ers roster was not a product of the first round.    So of their current roster, only Carl Landry has the benefit of enjoying an NBA contract based upon his current performance.   Other players signed deals based upon a projected upside.  Hinkie gave those players a premium contract immediately.   You see, much like the teams of the NBA, players in the NBA want to be paid now as well.

Next: Ish Smith Temporary Savior for Sixers

And that’s what gives this Sixer team the advantage.   They are farming, developing, and growing players for the NBA.  The development league is a good alternative, but not all NBA franchise teams have that affiliation, which gives an opportunity for both the player and a team like the Sixers to take the risk on a prospect.   One way to mitigate the success of the Sixers in finding “gems” in the draft would be to expand the NBA draft, and incentivize all NBA teams to align with a developmental league team.  But until the NBA changes the conditions, the Sixers will have success with undervalued talent.

That becomes a huge factor.  As soon as the Sixers turn the corner, they will have plenty of available cash.  With the right free agent, this team can immediately compete.  If the team does not improve rapidly enough, they can sit on their 2016 NBA draft picks. But if they do improve through the end of this season, they can consider a more rapid track to improvement.  In short, as the Philadelphia 76ers improve, free agency becomes a viable option.  You can bet agents and the national media will have a differing opinion of the team when that happens.