Rebuild Restructure Stage One: Upgrade scouting and player assessing.
So where do you start if you are the Sixers? Well, the key to everything at this stage of the plan is player evaluation. And the key to all of that is the Director of Scouting Development Phil Jabour. The Philadelphia 76ers scouting department has not really been taxed in recent years. Besides the NBA draft, the majority of the player transactions have been about who is leaving the team, how much of a salary dump can the team absorb, and how many draft picks can we get in the deal. The fact that it was the combination of Jerry Colangelo and Mike D’Antoni who identified former Sixer point guard Ish Smith as a key element to build the team to a point where other players can be evaluated says more than you might think about the scouting and player analysis of the team as it currently stands.
You see, looking at the history of Jabour, he’s clearly followed Sam Hinkie from the Houston Rockets to the Philadelphia 76ers. He has served in the NBA since 2008 (eight years) and held the following positions:
Director of Scouting Development of the Philadelphia Sixers since 2014-2015 (Hired).
Scout of the Orlando Magic from 2013-2014 to 2013-2014.
Director of Scouting of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers from 2010-2011 to 2010-2011.
Video Coordinator of the Houston Rockets from 2010-2011 to 2010-2011 (Promoted).
Personnel Scout of the Houston Rockets from 2010-2011 to 2010-2011 (Promoted).
Personnel Video Coordinator of the Houston Rockets from 2008-2009 to 2009-2010 (Promoted).
If you see a wealth of NBA experience here, show me where it is. The reality is that, while I have NO doubt that Phil Jabour is a qualified and savvy director of scouting (he’s uncovered some true undrafted and 2nd round gems for Hinkie), there is certainly a vulnerability here when you look at the longevity of the man in an NBA scouting director role. He’s still green in comparison to Colangelo and D’Antoni. So let’s read the thoughts of Jerry Colangelo on the topic:
"“I think that any time you have an opportunity to enhance your organization, and you bring people in to accomplish that, you consider it. Big time. You really do,” Colangelo said. “And I think in our case we have a very bright young guy in Sam Hinkie, who holds the title of president and GM, and in his space he’s really strong. One could build a case for saying you’d like to have more people added who have experience in other aspects of those jobs. That’s the kind of conversation that’s going on. The first step was me being asked to come in, because of my experience, to maybe help and add to the mix. And the question you’re asking is, ‘is there a need or requirement for someone else?’ Maybe. Probably. That’s all being discussed…. I’m just saying adding people to the front office. And that’s not demeaning who we have. You want to be strong. If your goal is you want to be in the Finals… you have to take all the steps required to become that. I’d like to hear people say ‘they’ve got the strongest front office in the league.’ That’s a goal. That’s an objective. So it’s going to require more people to make that happen. That’s all.”"
So there is a perception of reinforcement needed by Colangelo. And what type of reinforcement? Well, the insertion of Mike D’Antoni as assistant to head coach Brett Brown is likely to be repeated. Despite stories whose theme is “Colangelo taking over”, the reality is that Colangelo has been incredibly gracious and supportive of the current forces in the Philadelphia 76ers. He does see a blind spot in the organization. He sees a lot of young passionate professionals working to build a winner in the NBA, but nobody has been there before. So he wants to add voices to the group who HAVE been there before.
The challenge with adding to personnel office is you want to add somebody’s wisdom without derailing the mechanics of the current system, and you want to have a cohesive group who can work well together. It’s a delicate operation, and one that must happen with great care but also great speed. The NBA season ends soon, and to make the right impact in both the draft and free agency, the team will need to add the right voices quickly.
Next: Stage two: Kill Draft