Philadelphia 76ers Need Cohesion, Not Seniority

The Philadelphia 76ers have determined that the off-season focus is to gather veterans to the club. But the team needs to redirect those plans in favor of the true roster needs: cohesion

It’s easy to draw simple conclusions about the Philadelphia 76ers and call it good. ESPN’s Stephen A Smith has been doing it for years, and getting away with it. Former Sacramento Kings head coach George Karl, standing in the midst of his own team’s utter futility, felt compelled to make public comments about the woes of the Philadelphia 76ers organization. The trouble with the unending forms of accusations and claims is that they are, factually correct.  The Philadelphia 76ers have been a bad team for the past three years.

Most begin the claim by asserting that the Philadelphia 76ers have deliberately tanked for the past three years is fundamentally wrong, they then proceed to insert facts that are used to draw the misdirected conclusion.  The priorities of the former president and general manager had nothing to do with the goal of “losing now”, and that is why the detractors never get it.  You see, while the results are undeniable, the root causes are completely different and unique for this Philadelphia 76ers team.

In the current Sixers strategy, the team has taken the long way to the championship, and in the process have loaded up the team with high upside youth.  It takes anywhere from four to six years for an NBA prospect to reach their full NBA potential.  With the team slated to debut center/forward Joel Embiid and forward Dario Saric this season, the clock would be reset once more.  If the Embiid/Saric pairing was the designed “core” of the team, then the Sixers would not be relevant for several more years.

That has incensed Philadelphia 76ers executive Jerry Colangelo:

And so, as feared, the team is about to undergo a complete overhaul of the roster. Jerry Colangelo, the man who was brought in as a consultant to advise the team, is now speaking for the ownership.  Moreover, the message is loud and clear right now.  The Philadelphia 76ers have draft picks that will be exchanged for a nearly equivalent value of NBA veteran players.

That is frightening unto itself, but there is more to fear.   The objective is seemingly just to get older and more experienced, not necessarily better.  The urgency is a pledge to restore the goodwill of the NBA faithful by making rapid and permanent changes (not necessarily improvements) to the roster.   Let’s discuss what the rest of the NBA sees, and decide if these factors truly are contributing to the Philadelphia 76ers futility on the basketball court?

Next: Youngest Roster In The NBA

I. The team is the youngest roster in the NBA

This is essentially true, but the cause and effect of the statement has been excessively overstated. The Philadelphia 76ers have played the past two seasons with a 14 man roster.  As the team has awaited the return to health of 2014 first round draft pick Joel Embiid, the team has had to occupy one slot with a rehabbing player.  That was even more exaggerated at the opening to the 2015-2016 season when hopeful starters such as Tony Wroten, Kendall Marshall, Carl Landry, Joel Embiid, and Nik Stauskas.

After fulfilling some of the roster potential in the heart of the season when the team became healthy, and added point guard Ish Smith,  the team improved to nearly a .500 pace.  But shortly thereafter, the team began to experiment with the roster once more, sliding Nerlens Noel to the center and Jahlil Okafor to the power forward position.  As the new lineup began to stabilize, injuries returned to haunt the team once more – this time claiming rookie sensation Jahlil Okafor with six weeks remaining in the season.

While so much of the focus was pointed at the age of this roster, the vacuum of discussion about the untimely injuries early and late in the season are irresponsible.  Had the team entered the season at full strength, there would have been early struggles, but the team would have responded far more quickly and consistently.  Had the team had Ish Smith throughout the off-season, the team would not have stumbled out of the gate.  Had the team been consistent in their approach to the center and power forward roles of the lineup, the team would have improved throughout the year.  And had the team not been bitten by the injury bug for the last two months of the season, they would have ended the season with positive momentum and with more than ten victories.

More from Draft

• Philadelphia 76ers Ten Biggest Mistakes of the Last Ten Years
• The Sixers sign four undrafted players after the NBA Draft
• Players the Sixers should target in undrafted free agency
• How to Watch the 2023 NBA Draft as a Sixers Fan
• 2023 NBA Mock Draft: 5 wing prospects 76ers could target

The deliberate act of stockpiling was not done with an intention of failing now, but of succeeding later.   The NBA is a constant battle of trying to replace talent that insists on getting away from a team, either by free agency or simply aging.   The current roster, as it stands today, is set up to mature within a year or two of one another.  Whether all players will be able to eventually contribute to that playoff team was always part of the plan.  There would bound to be some surprises with the roster, and there would bound to be some disappointments.

But the roster is filled with players who are inexpensive, are signed to team friendly contracts, and are eager to earn their way into NBA history.  They just need time to do so.

Next: Recent Drafts were failures

II. Recent drafts were failures

The need to judge any draft before players actually play games is one that plagues professional sports, but is all based on the hunch factor.  Of the three NBA drafts, the Philadelphia 76ers had a multitude of occasions where the NBA lottery could have landed the Sixers in a wonderful place.  For three years, the Philadelphia 76ers had a lottery pick, and for three straight years the team was unable to do any better than third.

Contrast those odds with that of the Cleveland Cavaliers, whose drop to the bottom of the league coincided with the decision of LeBron James to join his friends at the Miami Heat.  For three of those four years without James, the Cleveland Cavaliers landed the top NBA draft pick.  Unfortunately, in 2013 the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Anthony Bennett first overall, who sought to be assigned to the development league in December 2015.

“Four draft picks are probably a little bit too many”- Bryan Colangelo

The draft strategy of the Philadelphia 76ers, as a result of no favor of the NBA’s Lady Luck, simply became doubling down on the risk.  In short, the team grabbed players who were injured or were committed to international contracts, in the belief that if they panned out, their upside would more than make up for the greater risk of the downside.  As a result, the team converted draft currency into blue chip players with greater than usual risk, or converted today’s draft pick into one of more value tomorrow.   In either case, the strategy was consistent with the belief that the system was rigged to thwart immediately improvement, and the only way to improve substantially was to delay immediate value for the potential for far greater value later.

In terms of whether a Dario Saric or a Joel Embiid is a failed draft is a moot point, as neither have played on an NBA basketball court today.  When they do, and they have had sufficient time (say by season’s end) to acclimate to the NBA version of basketball, we will have a better understanding of the wisdom of deferring value in those drafts.  In fact, the entire concept that the Philadelphia 76ers have enjoyed a bounty of NBA draft picks is true, but most of the picks were converted on draft night to subsequent picks through a series of compounding draft selections.

The goal of the personnel decisions was to set up the team to succeed.   That meant the goal was to create a pipeline of young talent, accumulate a war chest, and accumulate draft picks.  That “austerity” of deferring the draft value to the future is what made selecting up to four first round picks possible in the first place.  To some, the odds of hitting a home run in the NBA draft dictate the need for so many draft picks to ensure that the team discovers the true diamond in the rough.  Others still fool themselves into a belief that the NBA draft is purely skill, and a true aficionado of the NBA would only need one first round pick to find a blue chip player.

It seems that Bryan Colangelo subscribes to the “purely skill” theory.

Next: Forced to Start Reserves

III. The current roster are reserves, forced to start.

While true to some extent, factoring in the absence of two key players – Dario Saric and Joel Embiid – gave the team a huge margin of error.  Why pull in expensive players to a team whose outlook is not good, just to raise the team from the worst in the NBA to a position of third or fourth worst in the NBA?  The previous administration did flood the roster with young players.  Due to the limits of an NBA draft system which awards just one first and one second round draft pick per team per year, the decision to synchronize the maturation of the team simultaneously with the projected stars placed a great deal of young players on the roster at the same time.

Without a platoon of veterans to cover the bulk of playing minutes, the young men of the Philadelphia 76ers were forced to start, yes.  But those playing minutes brought players on the roster further along than sitting on the bench ever would.   And with each game, the young men grew in experience.

Next season, without any changes, the entire roster has matured a full year.  Not only that, but many of the first time NBA players are now familiar with the NBA as a whole, as well as with their teammates.  That will have a tremendous advantage over a 2015-2016 roster that was not able to fully introduce themselves to one another until Carl Landry debuted for the 76ers on Christmas Eve.  The team should arrive in full health, with a full compliment of 20 players to begin the off season training camp.

But most importantly, the team will know by the end of training camp who will start at the five, four, three, two, and one positions, and will enjoy that knowledge the entire season.

That will be a stark contrast to a team that began the 2015-2016 NBA season without a clear starter at any position.  The roster was a blend of experimentation and try-outs, placing a new lineup onto the court on any given day.  No player had a “this is your role” initially, with the exception of Jahlil Okafor starting at the center spot and Nerlens Noel opening the season at the power forward position.  While the short cut to this step is the path the Philadelphia 76ers will elect – namely trading for or signing NBA players with clearly established roles in the NBA, the same impact to the team performance could be had simply by firming up the players with their responsibilities on the starting lineup.

Next: Without Leadership

IV. The team is without leadership.

The same team which opened the season with injuries, also was plagued with the injuries to the more seasoned NBA players: Carl Landry and Tony Wroten.  The team began the season light in veteran presence, but about the time that Landry joined the team, Ish Smith was acquired from the New Orleans Pelicans.  Shortly thereafter, the team brought in venerable power forward Elton Brand to serve as a mentor for the teams front court standouts of Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, and Jahlil Okafor.

While injuries eventually forced Brand to pull minutes, he was signed primarily to help mold the young players on the team.  But he was not the only veteran on the team, simply one of the few seasoned NBA players.

The team also had the likes of power forward Carl Landry on or after Christmas Holidays.  It was Landry’s consistent play on the court which coincided with the arrival of veteran point guard Ish Smith, launching the team into a temporary state of respectability.  But moreso than that, Landry was a presence in the practice gym, where he often took rookie Richaun Holmes under his wing to give him one on one instruction.

The team was not only queued for front court help, but they picked up a back court mentor when the team traded for the return of Ish Smith:

"“What T.J.’s doing out on the floor is really, really impressive. It’s funny because he’s got this awkward game when he gets around the rim. It’s fun to watch. It’s kind of Steve Nash-ish, where, you know, wrong foot, finishes, runners, and stuff like that. He’s been playing really good basketball since I’ve been here.” – point guard Ish Smitch discussing his protege’ T.J. McConnell"

The problem was not truly absence of team leaders, but the temporary absence of them.  Landry opened the season injured.  Smith did not arrive until nearly Christmas via trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.  Elton Brand did not arrive until January 4th.  So for the first three months of the season, the rookies were forced to fend for themselves in a brand new environment with their pockets stuffed full of NBA cash.  But it was a passing phase.  Eventually, veteran wisdom surfaced and began to take root on the roster.  Unfortunately, the team had already confirmed the fears of the NBA that the Sixers were too young.

But before the NBA intervened, health and veteran leadership found their way onto the Sixers roster.

Next: How About Some Honesty?

How About Some Honesty?

The best strategy is true honesty.  The reality is that the Sixers were not a good basketball team, but the answer is not as simple as rant sports talk would have you believe.   Injuries plagued the team in the 2015-2016 and should subside going into the 2016-2017 barring some unforeseen incident.  That brings the team up to full strength of 15 players, a number not enjoyed by the team for the past three years.  Young players comprised the majority of the team’s roster in the 2015-2016 season, and came from a diverse background of being undrafted and second round picks.  But after experiencing the NBA, the position of where the player was selected in the NBA draft becomes nearly a non-event.

It wasn’t just the fact that this was a young roster, but a roster built of best player available, and prospects with upsides.  Basketball teams are not just about building around talented players, but complimenting those players with talents that add to the teams competence.  The 2015-2016 roster was just a mosaic team, a fact we knew going into the season.

Bryan Colangelo sees the Philadelphia 76ers in a different light, that of the Toronto Raptors when he first arrived. The mere hint of similarity between the two is telling, as it suggests his “fix” will track in a similar fashion – turning over 2/3rds of the roster.

There are few similarities between today’s Philadelphia 76ers and the 2006 version of the Toronto Raptors. The speed by which Bryan Colangelo has diagnosed the teams with similar ailments is extremely alarming and troubling to me. Here’s why:

We see what we want to see. We “know” what we want to know. And there’s the rub. Ten years after the fact, Bryan Colangelo stands atop the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that has been quite austere with its outlays of salary, draft picks and roster spots – a team that not only is set up with over $60+ Million to spend on free agents, but a team with up to four first round draft picks in this year alone, and he sees the Toronto Raptors. I’m sorry Bryan Colangelo.  That comment may have worked in Phoenix and in Toronto, but the “I see my last team” really does little more for the Philadelphia fan base than scare the living daylights out of us.

By our estimations, a President of Basketball Operations is hired to get us an NBA championship.  There is not margin of error to detour by disassembling the existing roster without a cohesive plan.  Don’t just splurge on a whim from that which has been scrimped and saved for to get us to this moment in time.  We kept our cupboards bare to ensure we could spend when we needed to.
Don’t spend now just because you can.

Next: What's Your Story Glory?

What’s Your Story Glory?

It’s all part of the narrative. The narrative that the NBA friendly executive is carrying to the team:

 I came not to follow Hinkie’s Process, but to bury it.

While many of us have waited for the 2016 NBA draft to arrive, it’s becoming more and more likely that even if the Philadelphia 76ers begin with four draft picks, we may trade some or all away in a Don Quixote quest to beat the system by outwitting other NBA GMs.  Nobody makes a career of doing that.  If you do, NBA ownership excuses you from the proceedings.

“Four draft picks are probably a little bit too many”- Bryan Colangelo

The Philadelphia 76ers are a decent team with huge upside.  A championship team needs three stars to compete in the play-offs.  Right now, the Philadelphia 76ers are likely sitting on two, and could land the third and final piece in the 2016 NBA draft, if a championship was the goal.  But the immediate goal is older.   As though Colangelo is addicted to deal-making, and justifying that need with the facade of improving the team.   This roster improves just by showing up and welcoming Joel Embiid and Dario Saric to the team.  Whatever happens in the draft, beginning with the NBA Lottery in four days, is a Hinkie bonus.

But in Bryan Colangelo’s words, the team has a lot of “heavy lifting”  to do.

You can check out the video here: NBA interview of Bryan Colangelo  .  Once more, Bryan Colangelo will await the NBA Lottery, but the words came out once more: “Four draft picks are probably a little bit too many”.

Next: History Repeats Itself

History Repeats Itself

Bryan Colangelo has a real opportunity to make a significant impact here and now. With so many resources, the Philadelphia 76ers can emerge from the 2016 NBA draft as a team with plenty of assets – assets who can be aligned with the current roster needs and those who do not fit can be traded for parts which truly will fit the team’s scheme. Colangelo can create cohesion here, not maturity. Unfortunately, his objectives were established before a single interview of staff or players. He sees Toronto here in order to effect a Toronto fix here.

But the difference is real.  In Toronto, the team was a modest team on a run of bad luck.  In Philadelphia, the team is a young team in need of cohesion.  By the time Colangelo starts the wheeling and dealing, we’ll forget our fears and buy in once more to the excitement.  Who wouldn’t?  Colangelo is not about to chase NBA obscurities – he will chase the big name players with a hope that the fit will happen.

With some players it will, with some players it won’t.

But while Bryan Colangelo is chasing windmills, the Philadelphia 76ers will say goodbye to some very talented and determined young men.  If the roster makeover is similar to that of Toronto, we haven’t a prayer of generating any cohesion or chemistry.   And don’t believe it won’t happen, it must.

If there is a shred of semblance to this roster from the team Hinkie turned over, Colangelo will be haunted with the shadow that his success is due to Sam Hinkie.  He will never allow that to happen, and in this off-season, with so many expecting changes, is his window of opportunity.

Next: Philadelphia 76ers reportedly very high on Dunn

It’s not about building a championship now.  It’s about building Colangelo’s roster first.  Then, when the faces are unfamiliar and the salary cap is committed to NBA players, the focus will switch to building something better.  By that time, we will truly be another Toronto, chasing the dream of a championship with an empty wallet and exhausted draft picks.