The future of the Philadelphia 76ers NBA Draft picks

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CAMDEN, NJ- SEPTEMBER 23: Jerryd Bayless of the Philadelphia 76ers and President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo talk at the official opening of The Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex on September 23, 2016 in Camden, New Jersey. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Tactics change, strategy doesn’t

While that makes sense from a tactical standpoint, it is not the way the team will act strategically. Even as a playoff team, the Philadelphia 76ers simply have too much effort and value residing in the NBA draft.

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What value is that? Plenty. But before we analyze each draft, I want to analyze what I mean by tactics and strategy. Tactical is a term used to describe immediate short-term planning. “What tactics should I employ?”. Strategic is long-term planning. When I use those terms for the Philadelphia 76ers, it can be interpreted this way:

Tactical moves result in players who will make the starting lineup. Strategic moves may not make the starting lineup, and may even result in draft-and-stash player options.

Two-way contract strategy

How does this play into the new two-way contract options? Quite well actually. The two-way contract is designed by the NBA to keep developing players closer to their NBA team. In the past, the Philadelphia 76ers drafted raw young players. But to maintain their rights, the only option for the team was to encourage a “draft-and-stash” scenario. In that event, the player signs on to play overseas, but the player’s NBA rights are maintained by the team which drafted them.

Now, as the opportunity to secure a top three pick fades from “close to certainty” to “definite maybe”, the league at least has afforded teams roster slots to develop drafted players who are not quite ready for the NBA.

Now we are ready to dive into the future drafts of the Philadelphia 76ers.