Center Position
The center position of the Philadelphia 76ers has always been a key position for the team, particularly after the team failed with the attempt to find a franchise center with Andrew Bynum. With this position projected very important, the team has gone full out to fill it with talent worthy of a championship caliber team.
2013: Spencer Hawes / Henry Sims
The 2013 Philadelphia 76ers won 19 games and the center position was an area that did receive attention in the off-season. The 2013 NBA draft found the Philadelphia 76ers selecting Nerlens Noel with the 6th overall pick in that draft. Early hopes centered around Noel being ready on or about Christmas of that 2013-2014 season, and the Sixers had Spencer Hawes as a serviceable stop gap measure. When the team realized that Noel would not contribute, they simply extended Hawes to play throughout the season. The duo of Hawes and Sims did an adequate enough job for the team, Hawes averaged 13 points per game (PPG), 8.5 rebounds per game (RPG), and 1.26 blocks per game (BPG) on 31.4 minutes per game. Hawes allowed 2.2 turnovers per game (TPG) and offset that with .58 steals per game (SPG). But as is often the case, general manager saw an opportunity to deal Hawes to the Cleveland Cavaliers and did just that.
His replacement Henry Sims had similar numbers but with a team friendlier price tag, with 11.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and .5 BPG. He also had 1.3 TPG and generated .88 SPG. Henry Sims was that first wave of undrafted and untested talent that has been the mainstay of the Sixers roster since Sam Hinkie has begun the disassembly and reassembly. He was obtained in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers for Spencer Hawes and was accompanied by Earl Clark and two 2014 second round draft picks. Following the trade, Clark was waived by the Sixers. It was one of many moves Hinkie would make to exchange NBA talent for assets which would be converted to additional assets.
Next: 2014: Noel/Sims