The Philadelphia 76ers own the number one pick in the NBA draft, but rumors suggest there may be value to the team in trading back?
The best marketing strategy of any product is to make your customer believes he or she NEEDS your product. Convincing them that the life with your merchandise is so much better than any scenario without it. Then, convince them that the only seller of that euphoria is you.
So far, if the Philadelphia 76ers had ANY interest in listening to offers, they have employed a perfect marketing strategy. Initially, Bryan Colangelo seeded the market with his willingness to be open minded about trading the Philadelphia 76ers top pick:
"“It’s hard to put a number or a value on degree of aggressiveness, but we’ll certainly be open for business and listening to whatever is there,” Colangelo said at the draft combine. “I think any time you have certain assets on the table in front of you, you need to determine what your best strategic move is, and some of that is yet to be determined. To what degree we’ll be aggressive, it’s too early to say.”"
So the market sat up and took notice. The Sixers had opportunities to walk away from the NBA draft with the 1, 4, 24, and 26 draft picks. The message transmitted to the NBA was direct: Talk to us if you want a draft pick. Rumors began to fly in the belief that the Sixers might land two top five picks and be willing to deal one.
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And then, when the Philadelphia 76ers landed the top pick of the NBA draft, the path to obtaining that pick became…. a little more difficult. But the scenario for a possible trade already happened, it simply now focused on the top pick of the draft. Even Colangelo himself had to address the whispers that Philadelphia was shopping the number one pick:
"It’s pretty obvious that the answer is yes [to keeping the number one pick]. A lot of people jumped on the notion that we talked about looking at all alternatives as open to moving the pick. I think, again, you have to look at every single option and everything in front of you. But, the bottom line is, now that we’re sitting in the No. 1 position, it changes the dynamic. I think it was more in reference to, what would happen if we ended up with two top-five picks, if there was maybe, perhaps, a decision to move one of those. It’s highly unlikely that anything is done with the No. 1 pick except selecting the player."
And so, to the naked eye, it seems that a message was given, and then clarified. But to an NBA general manager, there are more dynamics at play. You see, as complex of a language as English, Bryan Colangelo is a master of the direct, and the subtle, statements
“Highly unlikely” is a far cry from “no way”. “It’s pretty obvious” is a far cry from “We are certain”. English allows those subtleties to be embedded in the message to an aficionado. Bryan, like his father Jerry, understands the dynamics of public statements quite well.
So that takes us to the value of the top overall pick in an NBA draft with a consensus of a two player draft. What type of value does the former Phoenix Sun / Toronto Raptor place on that pick?
Start with the moon….
Next: Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
Right now, the obvious choice for a team with enough currency to trade for the top pick of the 2016 NBA Draft would be the Boston Celtics. Standing at three, they also choose at 16 and at 23 in the first round.
With their team already finding plenty of success, and with a back court loaded, the Celtics would be the ideal team to warrant paying a kings ransom for an opportunity to bring either Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram to their lineup.
Will they do so? They need front court help in a bad way, and the match is so obvious that there has already been a consensus that the Celtics may initiate talks to acquire Jahlil Okafor with the third pick of the draft.
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The Boston Celtics do not need three first round draft picks this year. Yes, it’s great PR. Yes, it gives lots of excitement to the fan base. But how many rookies will make a roster of a 48-34 team with any impact? And without impact, those rookies never get enough playing time to develop, and wilt on the bench never hearing their name called.
No, this Celtics team needs starting caliber players, sure fire starters who could be elite someday.
A curious twist could pit the Celtics into giving up their third pick as well as either Avery Bradley or Marcus Smart. What an intriguing deal that might make. The Sixers get a sure fire veteran point guard – a true need that will not be met in this draft, and the third pick where they can pick up more back court help. In fact, with the potential of the Celtics team adding Ben Simmons, the Sixers could ask for the three pick, the sixteen pick, and Marcus Smart.
It could very well be worth it in the long run to the Celtics to get Ben Simmons.
Would you do that deal? The bigger question is, would wheeler/dealer Danny Ainge do that deal? I think the answer is yes, in a heartbeat.
Next: Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
Why? Why would the team holding the second pick of the NBA draft with two stellar talents want to trade up? If they rank one player far higher than the other, and to ensure that they get that player, it makes sense.
What would the cost be? The cost could simply be the 2nd pick of this draft, plus a player. With D’Angelo Russell not quite panning out, would the Lakers be willing to give up their disappointing point guard for the exchange to get to the number one pick?
Possibly.
Swarm and Sting
If they believe that point forward Ben Simmons is a player in the image of Magic Johnson, the cost of a two and a disappointing point guard is nothing at all. The Lakers should pursue re-signing point guard Jordan Clarkson , and having him secured would be open to moving Russell.
Clarkson is a shooting point guard, having scored 15.5 points per game – second only to Kobe Bryant. The strength of Ben Simmons is that he is a field general. The second top prospect, Brandon Ingram, needs someone to get him the ball to make shot, and that ball distributor is not currently on the Lakers roster just yet.
Once more, the team most in need of Ingram’s shooting services on the wing are the Philadelphia 76ers, and they pick first. Can the Sixers leverage their first pick into obtaining the player that truly fits their needs AND get other assets?
You know this would be a deal Hinkie would certainly pursue. Will the Lakers? They need a front page splash, particularly in their goal of signing top NBA free agents. I don’t think waiting for D’Angelo Russell to mature does anything for that goal, particularly in light of the maturity concerns of Russell’s ability to handle teammates and the locker-room.
Clearing the roster of Russell, and adding Simmons, would be the clean start the Lakers so dearly need.
Next: Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
With the fourth pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, the Phoenix Suns are at the cusp of a team who could reach the number one pick with a draft pick exchange plus additional assets.
The Suns have the fourth, the thirteenth, and the twenty-eighth picks of the 2016 NBA draft, and have needs in the front court. They also have a pair of fine point guards in Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, each of whom would be welcomed indeed in a Philadelphia 76ers jersey.
Since Phoenix is in the same “rebuild” trench as the Philadelphia 76ers, it’s unlikely that they will consider trading their first round worth of draft picks for the number one pick, that’s too many opportunities to find quality talent.
But the Suns may part with their 4 and 28 picks and Brandon Knight for say, the Sixers first round draft pick and point guard T.J. McConnell. That would give the Suns the opportunity to grab Ben Simmons, place a very promising point guard on their roster to replace Brandon Knight, and retain their 13 pick for a quality front court player like power forward Skal Labissiere from the University of Kentucky or Gonzaga’s power forward/center Damantas Sabonis .
Since adding first time head coach Earl Watson, the Phoenix Suns are looking forward to rebuilding the team and with three first round draft picks it would be an easier path to part ways with some veterans here and look to add quality through the draft. That could be the opening a team like the 76ers could leverage, by dangling a number one pick to a team desperate for prospects with great upsides to lead Watson’s team going forward.
Next: Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
Now the final piece, why would the Philadelphia 76ers want to do this? The true answer? They don’t.
But the team is all about improving, and the team is leaning heavily to veterans right now. If you think Ben Simmons is the best prospect in the next 20 years to enter the NBA, then would the team be foolish to open the phone lines up for true veterans who can play in post-season NBA competition, knowing that Dario Saric will arrive with very similar skill sets and already packing a formidable shot from the perimeter?
The bottom line is that the Philadelphia 76ers sit atop the mountain right now, and deserve to set the bar quite high to move from that point. Other NBA teams know that any offer for that first pick must contain a certain amount of “WOW” to get the Sixer’s notice. It’s the same for any team sitting at number one.
Many teams may pick up the phone and call, only to realize the asking price is too rich. But this is the NBA, when each year gives a team only two chances to hit the mother-lode. The 2016 NBA draft belongs to the Philadelphia 76ers. To surrender that control, an NBA team needs to package enough value to truly shake the earth under the Sixers.
Next: Philadelphia 76ers Future NBA Draft Picks
Pipe dream? Maybe. But in the NFL, when a team covets the number one pick for a top quarterback they mortgage their entire draft: present and future. In the NBA, the stakes are oh so much higher because the true game-changes remain in the top two or three slots of the draft. The Sixers have no compelling reason to trade the first overall pick. The team is simply coming out of a 10-72 season and looking to optimize their improvement in any fashion possible.