Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid genius strikes again by declaring Philadelphia 76ers as the rising team to dethrone the Cleveland Cavaliers
The genius of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is lost on so many. On one hand, some ignore him. On the other hand, some berate him for speaking out of turn. And finally, some simply stand up and cheer because it’s Joel Embiid. But for the most part, folks consider the Cameroon center Joel Embiid’s tweets as social media entertainment only.
For an example, let’s take this little bold proud proclamation.
Embiid - "When I say we are going to be ready to win when the Cavs are going down, that doesn't mean, like, five years." Philly Inquirer
— 975TheFanatic (@975TheFanatic) May 17, 2017
Team Manifesto
How many believe this to be the next manifesto for the team? (*crickets*). Well, start looking at it in that fashion. There is a method to his madness. The team needs a player to set the bar for expectations. Set it too low, and it’s too easily accomplished. Set it too high, and it becomes counterproductive – it reinforces the “We Can’t Do That!” fears in players and fans alike.
But set it just so, and the fans and experts who scoff become part of the positive energy when it begins to improve possibilities. And it’s that constant stream of persons beginning to believe that adds even more positive momentum. A truly winning culture, where people believe it CAN be done, is not built simply in winning. It requires a visionary, someone who lays out the goal, and then to do it.
That person is Joel Embiid. And he does so masterfully.
But first, let’s talk about some basics.
Rebuilding With Purpose
The entire journey of the Philadelphia 76ers from 2014 through 2016 was not about getting the top pick of the NBA Draft. In fact, it was never about getting A top pick in an NBA Draft. The entire austerity of 2014 through 2016 was the equivalent of damning up the flow of resources though the team.
PistonPowered
Teams are giving an annual allowance via NBA Rules each year. Value in the form of attractiveness to free agents is just one value. Salary Cap space to spend is another value. And the third value for an NBA team is an assigned pair of NBA Draft picks: one first round and one second round.
The 2014 Philadelphia 76ers were bankrupt in all three areas. So newly hired team president arrived with the goal in very specific terms for the team. Build Value. Then Build Team. Then Build Championship.
Build Value
He left at the end of Build Value. But that is neither to say that he could NOT do the next steps, merely that he hadn’t gotten there. But he did masterfully address building team value. The third pick of the 2017 NBA Draft is based upon a 3.9 percent probability. As you well know, that pick came from the Sacramento Kings, as a 23rd ranked team in the league, and is the likelihood they would pick at three.
The Sixers accumulated picks, shed unnecessary salaries, and rummaged through a large number of players each year to find gems. Players who performed at a higher plateau than their draft or salary range added value to the team as well.
Convertible NBA Currency
Value which could be converted via NBA trades.
The former president and GM created a treasure trove of future value for the team. It’s that surplus above the annual NBA allowance which will give the Philadelphia 76ers enough materials to build a winning team. But building a team is more than just adding talent. Building value was just the beginning.
Build Team
Building a cohesive team coincided to the moment new president Bryan Colangelo arrived and former president Sam Hinkie left. It was simply the time for the switch, and not dependent upon new philosophy.
FanSided
How the team is constructed is where the new personality of Bryan Colangelo has steered the Philadelphia 76ers. In his view, rookies and untested NBA players are raw potential energies which need veteran guidance to align with team play. While there is some truth to that, the Philadelphia 76ers owe much of the team success to the leadership of the younger players.
Veterans Value
The Gerald Henderson, Jerryd Bayless, and Sergio Rodriguez, simply did not gain the level of production hoped for from their signing a year ago. But they did add one very valuable aspect to this team. They absorbed starting minutes until younger players on the bench earned the starts.
During the Veteran run with the team, the team hovered at 8-24. Both Gerald Henderson and Sergio Rodriguez joined Jerryd Bayless on the injured list as 2016 drew to a close. The time arrived. Rookies and young players had to step up.
And they did.
Team Vision Takes Root
The team upped their game and went on to achieve a 20-30 record in 2017. But it happened after Joel Embiid made the bold claim that the 10-25 Philadelphia 76ers were capable of making the playoffs.
"“I think we have a chance. We’ve been hot lately,” he said. “We’ve won three out of four lately, so I look at it and I think we have a chance and we’re really figuring things out. We’re starting to learn how to win games.”- via ESPN interview after defeating Brooklyn Nets"
From that moment on, the Philadelphia 76ers played at a far higher level. Eventually, other players began to proclaim that this team is capable of making the NBA Playoffs. The crazy idea uttered at a moment in team history of “we are better than this” became a self-fulfillng prophecy.
When you examine the roster, the evidence is unmistakable. This is a playoff team, if healthy.
Build Championship
But making the playoffs is not the ultimate goal. In fact, it never was. Playoffs are a way of rewarding the team management that they are doing everything well enough to sustain what they do for the foreseeable future. Only one team per season wins the ultimate prize.
All other playoff teams get a consolation prize. That, in itself, is enough validation to maintain the status quo. Teams like the Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz did not threaten to enter the NBA Championship, but the season’s success is enough to warrant a “steady as she goes” perspective.
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Playoff Team Batter Box
The Philadelphia 76ers are not there yet. But the proclamation of Joel Embiid did awaken something in the team. It forced everyone in the organization to focus synchronously on the concept: “What must I do to make that happen?”. The results are unmistakable. Even head coach Brett Brown applauded the statement.
Brown, speaking after practice, says he applauds Embiid talking about playoff desires. Sees his belief, confidence filtering to rest of team
— brianseltzer (@brianseltzer) January 10, 2017
If you cannot place it into words, you can never make it happen.
Challenge Cavaliers For Championship
Which Brings Us To Philadelphia 76ers Challenging Cavaliers. What was he thinking when he set the team up with this claim?
Embiid: Sixers getting in position to replace Cavs as Eastern Conference's elite https://t.co/RnXP7DxznP via @phillysport
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) May 17, 2017
The timing was no accident. In fact, it was likely quite purposeful.
The Philadelphia 76ers now know that the team has the 3, 36, 39, 46 and 50 picks in the upcoming NBA Draft, and the wildcard in the draft projections begin at the Sixers selection at three.
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Joel Embiid knows his rank in the pecking order. The team invested two years, countless hours of medical expertise, created a sports medicine position, all for the exclusive care and benefit of Embiid.
Three Very Important Components to this Proclamation:
I: Forces Philadelphia 76ers Draft strategy to build for more immediate future
II: Forces Philadelphia off-season to build towards beating Cavs (versus waiting five years)
III: Places everyone in organization on notice: Championship, not playoffs, is the goal.
I: Forces Philadelphia 76ers Draft strategy to build for more immediate future
Ultimately, the crux of the 2017 NBA Draft rests solely upon which player the Philadelphia 76ers select. And if you’ve read the projections, the talent available to the team at the three to about the ten pick in the 2017 NBA Draft rests within a tight range. The top two picks, Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball, are somewhat the consensus for now. But at three? Place two Sixers fans in a room and you will get three possibilities.
So it’s a matter of taste. Offense? Defense? Upside? Well-Rounded Player? Wing? Point Guard? Shooting Guard?
Swarm and Sting
Kawhi Leonard Template
Ultimately, the team fortunes against the Cleveland Cavaliers hinges upon neutralizing, or more realistically, limiting the explosiveness to LeBron James. In James own words, the player who most neutralizes his offense is San Antonio Spurs Kawhi Leonard. And Leonard is a 6-foot-7 230 pound small forward whose offense arrived five years into the NBA.
To hit on defense, the Philadelphia 76ers must consider small forward Josh Jackson. In the eyes of many, he is the surest defender in this draft and is an immediate plug and play at the two or three role. That versatility gives the team options to slide Robert Covington to power forward for stronger defense, or pushing Leonard to two and bringing in some big guns in the front court to help offensively.
Josh Jackson… or… OG?
The fact that Jackson is a fellow Kansas alum merely endears him to Joel Embiid’s team all the more.
But offensively, Jackson is not a fit for this team argues Christopher Kline. He points to the offensive struggles of Jackson and indicates the far more fitting player is Malik Monk. But Monk brings offense, and nobody wins the shooting matches with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Just ask the Boston Celtics.
But if the Philadelphia 76ers fail to select Jackson at three, Another player aptly described in comparisons to Leonard is O.G. Anunoby. Projected anywhere from 11 to 20 on most mock NBA Draft boards, he possesses an ideal 7-foot-2 wingspan which projects as an elite NBA defender. The problem is that he is too low for the three pick and likely will not fall to round two.
But the 36, 39, 46 and 50 picks come into play. If the 76ers find a willing trade partner with Anunoby on the board, they may be tempted to trade back into round one and grab the defensive elite prospect.
II: Forces Philadelphia Off-Season Focus Beating Cavs (not future)
While this makes complete sense, it’s important to understand the value of Joel Embiid’s claim. In the wake of the subtle gauntlet tossed to the ground, the star center is suggesting that free agents can no longer duct-tape the teams roster through injuries or rookie player development.
Now, the team must find players who add, fit, and amplify the roster. No more shopping from the bargain basement. No more guesswork on veteran health. The players targeted in this off-season must be more than bridges into some distant future.
Now, the team has set the standard of reference. In short, to every more the team makes this year, someone will ask: “How does this improve our chances against the Cleveland Cavaliers?”. That measuring stick is huge for this team.
Front Office Now Accountable
Much like the fear of an electric fence herds large farm animals, the fear of public dissent over transactions that do not pass the Embiid-inspired litmus test will keep the 76ers front office in check.
As rumors come and go, and whispers of “unnamed NBA sources” begins to fill your timelines once more, you are now empowered to assess that rumor thanks to Joel Embiid. Will it improve the Sixers chances of dethroning the Cleveland Cavaliers? That is an incredibly powerful tool to steer the direction of the team.
III: Places everyone in organization on notice: Championship, not playoffs, is the goal.
This cannot be overemphasized. NBA “basketball-minded” thinkers rule the rules of the NBA. As a matter of fact, NBA teams that make the playoffs are AOK. Media treats those teams gently. Questions posed become “what will…?” versus “why did you…?”.
But from a player’s perspective, don’t make public waves is an early lesson. Team distractions raises the ire of coaches and executives. That takes valuable time and energy away from the basketball court.
Unless a player figures out a way to reverse the polarity.
Reverse Polarity
Joel Embiid is such a player. On one hand, perhaps it’s his infectious personality. On the other hand, perhaps it’s a result of two-years of aimless conversations with Hinkie. In summary, it could be the random forces of right-phrase-right-time coincidence.
The Philadelphia 76ers are a team of very gritty, tough, and basketball savvy players. So when Joel Embiid proclaims a high bar for this team, it passes them by.
It’s not until NBA pundits begin chortling that triggers the esprit-de-corps among the players. At that point, tough-minded T.J. McConnell ask the defensive question: “Why can’t we?”. Dario Saric, a player who shines in the toughest situations, begins to believe. Robert Covington, a player who has been through it all with this team, quietly turns his play up a notch. And so begins the avalanche caused by Joel Embiid’s snowflake statement.
Not Grandstand, Grand Move
This was no grandstanding move on Joel Embiid’s part. Rather it was the selfless move of a player willing to become the lightning rod for his teammates. Much like the success of his January 2017 statement, the timing of this claim is more than “optimal headlining impact”.
Raising Zona
On one hand, this team is raw metal. On the other hand, Embiid’s declarations merely forge, temper, and sharpen the metal for the task at hand.
By all accounts, talent alone is not going to get a team past the Cleveland Cavaliers. That team is built to compliment the skills of one another. Defend the paint. Move the ball. Push defenders towards the hoop and then open up the three-shot artillery.
Well Played Joel, Well Played
The Philadelphia 76ers can never hope to win a championship until each player shares one goal, one dream, one vision.
And so, in that one bold blow-off-that-31-game-rookie-wild-claim-to-fame declaration, he has embedded that common thought into everyone associated with the Philadelphia 76ers organization. In summary, Genius. As a matter of fact, pure, out-of-the-blue genius.
Joel Embiid played 31 games for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2016-2017 NBA season. But his two greatest plays may not be one that occurred on the court. His willingness to tout the future of this team to an audience of disbelievers has done something few expected.
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After all, he’s converting those disbelievers into believers. The Embiid is coming, NBA. And he’s not alone. He’s lining up the entire city of Philadelphia behind him. Caveat NBA.