The Philadelphia 76ers upcoming season has the excitement and anticipation of two summers worth of draft prospects.
Welcome to the 2016 offseason, Philadelphia 76ers fans. This offseason is the one we’ve been waiting for. This year’s draft could change everything, and added free agency moves could make it even better.
Fans of the Sixers have been struggling for a long time. The team hasn’t made it into the playoffs since 2012, and hasn’t made a truly notable splash in the playoffs since Allen Iverson lead the team to the NBA Finals in 2001, only to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers. On top of that, the team has not won a title since 1983. Basically, things haven’t gone the Sixers’ way in a long, long time.
Ironically, one of the biggest in-game promotions that the Sixers had at the Wells Fargo Center this season was allowing fans to take a look at the trophy from the 1983 season. Perhaps they were trying to plant a seed, saying, “we’re not that far away from another one.”
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While some fans may find that statement to be insane, I think it could be true, given that certain pieces fall into the right roles and perform right away. They might not be that far away. Thanks to years of asset building by Sam Hinkie at the drivers seat, the team may be ready to cash in. The past few seasons have been the waiting period, but this upcoming season could be the ultimate payout.
A lot of the excitement is obvious, but what fans don’t realize is how rare a cusp season like this is. Sure, lots of teams have years where fans are thinking, “this is it, something has to change this year. This next season has to be really good!” But this year, for Sixers fans, is a true rarity, not just in the context of the Sixers, but in the context of the NBA.
The Sixers have a possible four first round draft picks this year. Two of those could land in the top four of the draft, and two later in the 20s. The Sixers could potentially come up with a trade for the Lakers’ top-three protected pick, and if the ping-pong balls fall correctly, they could snag both Brandon Ingram and Ben Simmons at one and two in the draft.
Even if they can’t get both, they are fairly likely to get one of them in the draft, with nearly a 45 percent chance that their pick falls in the top two of this year’s NBA Draft. That’s a minimum of one lottery player and two extra first round players, assuming the Sixers don’t trade any picks away.
As if that draft information wasn’t exciting enough, the Sixers should be debuting Joel Embiid next season, who has been sidelined with injuries for a while now, and they should be bringing over Croatian star Dario Saric as well.
Embiid and Saric were the trophy pieces for the Sixers of the 2014 draft, both players who have yet to see a single second of NBA action for the Sixers. Simmons (and/)or Ingram being on this team just adds to the excitement.
Embiid is a dominant big man who just keeps getting better and adding to his game, despite never playing in a real situation. We’ve seen him extend his range pre-game, and we’ve seen him work on his footwork. He’s had a lot of time to fine-tune several parts of his game.
Saric has been overseas getting ready playing for a team in Turkey. His numbers there have been great, somewhat like a Kevin Durant in the NBA. He has a 3-point shot and could easily fit into the Sixers’ system as a stretch four.
2014’s plant is finally coming to bloom, and 2016’s plant should be blooming earlier, at around the same time. I can’t think of many NBA seasons that have so many lottery draft picks making their debut on a single team. At the very least, the Sixers should be debuting three lottery picks, and possibly four. At the same time, Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel (assuming neither is traded this offseason) will continue to develop for the team.
This youth and explosion of new talent is something to get excited about.
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That much young talent on the same team is sure to have a huge positive impact on the Sixers’ 2017 season. The learning curve may be an issue, but these are good basketball players. The Sixers have a shot at securing 5 lottery picks from the past three NBA Drafts, setting them up to be a dominant team in the future.