Is Eversley Truly The Basketball Mind Bryan Colangelo Needs ?

To No Surprise, Bryan Colangelo Interviewing for New Executive For Scouting

I was wondering what was taking so long. We talked about what the Sixers needed to build a championship months ago – about the time that executive Jerry Colangelo indicated that the team was now on a three year timeline.

Then, and now, we were keen on what the Philadelphia 76ers needed to do to accomplish that arduous task in such a short time frame. The first and obvious stop was the scouting department, which is spearheaded by Director of Scouting Development Phil Jabour.

Phil Jabour is a Hinkie guy, so that in itself makes him quite vulnerable to a new regime. But even two months ago, I saw that he was vulnerable to ascertaining eyes looking for NBA basketball scouting and personnel experience:

"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)."

While he is certainly accomplished, it is clear that Bryan Colangelo will be seeking “HIS” guys in the office.  But who will that be?  Well, it appears that the younger Colangelo is getting the band back together, tapping his former Raptors executive and number two man Marc Eversley.

Eversley has been serving as the VP of Scouting of the Washington Wizards since September 1, 2013. In the two drafts since Eversley assumed his position in Washington, the results of the draft are less than stellar. The 2014 draft found the Wizards selling their lone second round pick (number 46) to the Los Angeles Lakers, while in 2015 the team drafted small forward Kelly Oubre and second rounder Aaron White, who they sent to play internationally. With only Oubre on the roster, and with his playing time of just 10.7 minutes per game and 3.7 points per game average, there is not a great deal to “ooh and ahh” over.

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On the free agent front, he really made no more of a significant contribution, despite a two year tenure. During his watch, the team signed free agent Paul Pierce in 2014 but were not able to resign him in 2015.  And there’s the rub.   Between basketball gigs at the Toronto Raptors, and the return to basketball with the Washington Wizards, he was the executive for Nike to spearhead their basketball associations.  In that role, he used his basketball “ties” to steer Nike into associations with basketball players who could serve as good brand representatives.

Now, it seems, he will soon be rejoining his former Raptors associate with the Philadelphia 76ers, a team where the duo had very mixed results.  Expect to see more hirings, as Colangelo continues to surround himself with loyalists, and reduces the role or downright fires those who were clearly on board the Sam Hinkie “Trust The Process”.   The makeover of the scouting department, and of the front office in general, needs to occur rapidly as the NBA draft is rapidly approaching.   Right now, the Philadelphia 76ers hold a pick ranging from 1-5 (their own), a 44.2% chance of selecting at 4-5 (Los Angeles Lakers pick), the 24 pick (Miami Heat), and the 26 pick.   On top of these selections, the Sixers also hold rights to swap their pick with that of the Sacramento Kings if the Kings have a more favorable slot following the draft lottery.

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With so many options, the direction of the team needs to happen quickly.  The team is bursting with young raw talent, and so the obvious discussions being held (or soon to happen) will include the weighing out of using picks, or trading them for veteran help.  That will likely be determined by how receptive second tier free agents are to signing with the Philadelphia 76ers.  But all of this takes time to map out, and then execute.  Sam Hinkie, for all his faults of assembling a “win now” team, mastered deals in a way that he never seemed to come out on the short end of a transaction.  In fact, his moves seemed to be planned out like chess moves, one transaction leading to the next, to the next, and so on.

The greatest challenge of this new regime is the certainty that they will win some, but they will lose some as well. It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to do too much too soon, particularly when Colangelo will be spending the bankroll tucked away by Sam Hinkie. Eventually the bankroll will run out. At some point, it will be no longer be abut shopping for talent, but tweaking the roster, coaching the players, out thinking and out playing the competition.

But until then, we shop. At least until we’ve exhausted the piggy bank.