The Sixer Sense
Fansided

Should league fix NBA Draft that helped to rebuild Philadelphia 76ers?

By Bret Stuter

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: The draft board is seen displaying picks 1 through 30 after the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: The draft board is seen displaying picks 1 through 30 after the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 22: The draft board is seen displaying picks 1 through 30 after the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 22: The draft board is seen displaying picks 1 through 30 after the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

On the surface, the NBA is content with the NBA Draft Lottery and Draft. But beneath the surface, executives are boiling over perception more NBA teams will take Philadelphia 76ers path to rebuild

The NBA is suffering an identity crisis right now. The movement began with the Houston Rockets. But it moved north to the Philadelphia 76ers, where it took on a life of its own.  Asset accumulation morphed into #TrustTheProcess, and became the rally cry to a team shunned by the NBA by daring to plan for the future.  The NBA draft, the oasis of talent for the parched teams of the NBA basement, cannot restore a team to competitive form in one gulp.

The problem?  The path the Philadelphia 76ers opted for is proving to be successful, economically sound, and doable by virtually half of the NBA.  So with no price of admission, more and more teams are now rumored to be opting into a rapid-cycle prospect search for NBA talent.

NBA Puritans

NBA Puritans call that tanking. And they want it stopped now, dead in it’s tracks.

While some of the strategies are creative indeed, there is the underlying current of truth that nobody dares admit to. They all eliminate the marketing power of the NBA Lottery, and fix a perceived problem with a poison pill approach.