How Necessary Are Veterans for the Sake of Being Wise Now?
By Josh Wilson
Are the Philadelphia 76ers still in need of veteran players for the sake of having wise people around, or are they past that stage?
The debate about the need for veterans with the Philadelphia 76ers keeps coming up, and may be one of the eternal arguments that exists until the Sixers make it into the playoffs. Since the rebuilding process started, there has been the constant group of people screaming, “they just need to suck it up and bring some veterans in! For order! For wisdom!”
Yes, veterans would have completely changed the tone, but those people clearly missed the point of the rebuild. The rebuild showcased young players for a reason, and that reason was A. to put an increased emphasis on youth development, and B. to lose games. Veteran players would have imparted too much wisdom and won the Sixers right out of the lottery, thus making the rebuild exactly what it wasn’t supposed to be.
Eventually, however, as the Sixers looked to transition from tanking to winning games, veterans were needed. Players with knowledge of the league, how to take losses, and how to turn them into wins, were a necessary if the Sixers ever wanted to bridge the gap from the tank to the promised land. It was just a matter of what veterans and when the veterans should start coming in. And my unpopular opinion is that, even though I wanted to see Sam Hinkie carry out his rebuilding process, Bryan Colangelo being brought in may have been the necessary tone change to bridge that gap and make that transition happen.
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So, yes, veterans this season were probably necessary. The signings of Sergio Rodriguez, Gerald Henderson, and Jerryd Bayless were good ones and were important in making the team good this season.
Bayless’ injury being as bad as it is was somewhat unforeseen and we can’t hold that against Colangelo, but Henderson’s ability to slip into many different roles in the offense has been impressive. Rodriguez’s efforts in the early stages of the season were solid, and he looked like a point guard that was a steal, and a truly innovative signing considering most GMs had forgotten about his existence overseas.
And let’s not forget about Elton Brand, the one veteran signing that Hinkie made that really seemed to be his folding into the pressures of ownership and Jerry Colangelo. If there was ever a veteran that was “Process” it was Brand. And Brand’s mentoring was important for a lot of the Sixers’ big men.
Now, however, as the Sixers are closing out their season, and closing in on 30 wins (seriously, who saw that coming?) we must ask the question again — how necessary are veterans?
Yes, I do believe that 30 wins this season was not going to be possible without the vets. Looking at the grand scheme of things, though, a lot of the efforts that led to this great season and the 30 wins had little to nothing to do with those vets. Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, and Robert Covington really led the charge in January, the team’s best month this season by far. Their defensive anchoring made the Sixers great.
Were the veterans there for morale reasons? Likely. Were they effective in that? Also likely. The trouble here is that this is not measurable.
The reason we are so infatuated with veterans and their role in building a young team is that they have experiences. With those experiences come a lot of things. Decision making is one — players who have been through situations before can look at a path and say, “okay, here is what I should do here, based on what has worked and not worked in the past.” Another is the ability to take wins and losses and roll with the punches and move on. A third is the knowledge and wisdom they’ve built up from those experiences to impart on the youth.
The thing is, we’re going to start seeing a lot of Sixers young players turn into said vets. No, looking at their age and accomplishments won’t tell you, “wow, that guy is experienced, sign him for veteran experience!” but their NBA age will be far older than what meets the eye.
A lot of the players who have been around have faced adversity. Whether that’s been directly through losses, or injuries, or even being cut, re-signed, and completely counted out by most as an NBA player before, these players have proven they can roll with the punches.
Additionally, everything the Sixers have soaked up from the vets up to this point is things they know have under their belt, and could pass along to future youngsters that come through this year’s draft. Vets can’t share everything in a year, but I’m willing to bet one year was enough to give the Sixers young guys something.
How necessary are veterans? I think they’re needed, but not in herds. I think having a guy like Gerald Henderson around for a decent amount of time is a solid idea, but there isn’t much need to have many older heads around for the sake of having older heads.
Sergio Rodriguez is a free agent after this season, so the Sixers can part ways with him easily, and will almost certainly do so.
Is Jerryd Bayless and Gerald Henderson a necessary pairing on the Sixers? A large part of me thinks no. Yes, they had actual basketball qualities that went along with their “veteran” tag when they were signed, but it seems like a large selling point for them was that veteran label.
Both are under contract for this whole season with no option to get out of their deals, but if a trade during the draft or free agency comes up for one of them, it seems logical for the Sixers to look at what they have and evaluate how truly necessary veterans are and whether they need to be kept around for the next leg of the process.
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Shortly after the free agency period, I wouldn’t fathom saying that the Sixers were fine with letting go of their two big veteran signings that they had just made once the season was closing. But that’s how crazy this season has been. The youth has proven themselves, and proven that they don’t necessarily need their hands held as they tackle the NBA.