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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Jan 27, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek makes a call during the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 27, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek makes a call during the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Phoenix Suns Fire Head Coach Hornacek

When a team is swept by the worst team in the NBA (at the time), there is an automatic “oops, how bad IS this team?” reaction. And so, the Phoenix Suns have made this list of falling teams in the NBA just from that condition alone.

But this team has more problems, plenty of them.  They finished with a 48 win out of 82 games in the 2013-2014 season, falling slight to just 39 wins in the 2014-2015 season.  Neither season was bad enough to panic, but was far too impressive for the team to be thinking NBA draft lottery.   So the team did what many teams do, they tried to improve their roster through their meager NBA draft and by trading players.

To pursue LaMarcus Aldridge, a player they wanted desperately, the team traded Reggie Bullock, Danny Granger and Marcus Morris to the Detroit Pistons to free up salary dollars.  But the team neglected the impact such a trade would have on Marcus’ twin brother:

But there’s more.  The team was so disappointed after the first loss to the struggling Philadelphia 76ers, that they fired assistant coaches  Mike Longabardi and Jerry Sichting.   The move was believed to “shake up” the team into playing more effectively.  At the time, the team was sitting at a 12 win 20 loss record.  It did shake up the team, badly.  Now nearing panic level, the team was in no position to absorb a loss to a key player.  So that’s what they faced next:

The Phoenix Suns, who had began the season with a 7-5 start, began to free fall.  After the first loss to the Sixers which prompted the team to fire two assistant coaches, the team plummetted through a 2 win 15 loss streak.  A month after losing the the Philadelphia 76ers, the Suns traveled to Philadelphia desperate for a win.  The team and the coach failed to find that win, and with the stage already set by the previous loss to Philadelphia, the front office had no choice but to fire the head coach.

With a new coaching staff, the future is awfully murky for the Suns, but it would not surprise me in the least if the team went into player development mode now. Having shut down point guard Eric Bledsoe for the season and now at a point of no return, they will likely simply ride out the descent and see what they can patch together in the off-season.  In one of the strangest twists of irony, the Philadelphia 76ers may be one of the most significant contributors  to a tanking Phoenix Suns.

Next: Timberwolves Are Taking Their Time