The Sixer Sense
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NBA Tanking Teams WIll Complicate Philadelphia 76ers 2016 Draft

By Bret Stuter

Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; General view of the full first round draft board at the conclusion of the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; General view of the full first round draft board at the conclusion of the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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NBA: Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers
NBA: Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers /

Los Angeles Lakers Lament

They were not a good team in 2014-2015, winning 21 of 82 games to finish with the fourth worst record in the league.  They were even better in 2013-2014, winning 27 of 82 games in that season. But they scored on the second pick in the 2015 NBA draft.  So how bad could things get?  Well, when you disbelieve in developing your young players and choose to focus all energies on the farewell tour of one of the NBA elites?  It can get pretty dismal indeed.  Projected to take the center from Duke, Jahlil Okafor, they slipped up everyone in the NBA by selecting point guard D’Angelo Russell.  The surprise was such that they may have suffered a setback to the team’s recovery in that process.

You see, the Lakers are stuck between a perception of being better than they are, and worse than they ought to be.  I won’t debate the “right way” to acclimate a rookie to a team with a high profile history needing to develop his skills rapidly.  I will merely sit back and enjoy the job Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown does for this team.  Learning means making mistakes.   Mistakes means pain of some sort.  Pain motivates.  Motivation drives focus and renewed practice.  Focus and practice drives progress.  What of the results for Russell?

Keep in mind the Los Angeles Lakers are one such team caught in the deathly vise grip of high paid players past their prime, missing on top draft picks, and failure to recognize they need to begin player development yesterday. It’s far too early to consider Russell or anyone from the 2015 a “bust”, but there is plenty of evidence to believe the pairing of Russell on the Lakers team is not a natural fit. The result? The Los Angeles Lakers have flirted with consistently bad so far this season, with no hope or catalyst of improvement.

They will likely be overtaken by the improving Sixers and have the highest chance of the lottery of getting the number one pick of the 2016 draft.  If they do, there is a pretty good case that they will be selecting phenom Ben Simmons.

Next: Suns Fire Head Coach