The Sixer Sense
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NBA Centers Are Still A Key Piece To The NBA Championship

Dec 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (R) and center Jahlil Okafor (M) greet Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson (L) prior to game action at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (R) and center Jahlil Okafor (M) greet Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson (L) prior to game action at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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Apr 10, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown goes over a play with his team during the third quarter of the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center. The Milwaukee Bucks won 109-108 in OT. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown goes over a play with his team during the third quarter of the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center. The Milwaukee Bucks won 109-108 in OT. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

NBA Starters

While the argument to balance the roster is a valid objective, we need to pause a moment here. The goal cannot be “let’s thin the herd” at center no matter how we feel about the log jam at the position.  The fact is that we have three very young and inexpensive players who are considerable assets in the modern NBA.

The common goal of all of us is to improve the team.  How we get there is up to Bryan Colangelo and the front office staff he has surrounded himself with.    Based on the 2015-2016 experience, it cannot be another year of rookie roster only, and that’s clear.

But it’s both naive and premature to rush into dealing one of the three centers just for the sake of dealing one.  Driving away from something never gets you where you want to go, it merely gets you away from where you were.  Moving one or two of the centers now does nothing to improve the team if we merely “take what we can get” in the exchange.

The word is out now.  The Detroit Pistons are in the mix for a 76er center. The San Antonia Spurs are contemplating the need for an NBA center as well.  The In fact, there are many NBA teams in the market for upgrading their center position.

Josh Wilson highlighted potential landing spots for Jahlil Okafor, arriving at eight additional NBA teams.  But in the end, it’s about improving the Sixers.  The same scenario can be made in the context of moving Nerlens Noel, but the ultimate decision to pull the trigger is dependent upon improving this team.

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It’s off-season, and it’s the season to propose, contemplate and assess potential moves to come from the Philadelphia 76ers and we will do our best to lay each potential move out for you.  But what we will not do is set the value of the trading pieces for you.  Each of us must sit back, consider the potential value of what we surrender for the potential value of what we receive, and decide if you accept or reject that scenario.   What we are giving up is an NBA starter with an upside to achieve All-Star status.  That should be the minimum of what we accept in return.

If not, we haven’t improved this team at all.