After years of a building up a formidable roster, trading it all away for a questionable superstar would be against “the Process” and all its values for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Philadelphia 76ers were really good last year. Like really good. Like really, really good. But for some reason, all of a sudden, we need Kawhi Leonard to succeed. Um, what? How is this possible?
The risks with Kawhi
Yeah it sounds great to add a 26-year-old star to a team, but when looking at Kawhi you have to realize the risk that he might only be there for a year. The second Kawhi joins the roster it will be championship or bust that year. Likely the only thing that will keep him on the roster for multiple seasons is the thought that he will be able to win multiple rings.
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This puts the entire Sixers’ roster in an extremely pressure packed situation. All this pressure just for somone that the Sixers will need to unload a lot of assets to get. Not to mention that we are talking about a guy who basically quit on his team last year. Because you have to think, if Kawhi could quit on the Spurs (a frankly fantastically run team with great personnel) there is a possibility he could give up on the Sixers too if things start to go bad.
The heavy price to get Kawhi
We have all seen the many varieties of mock trades for Kawhi. And frankly most of them are pretty painful to look at. Markelle, Dario, RoCo, Zhaire, and a first round pick? Get out.
In any trade situation, Dario and Markelle should not be available. End of story. Giving up either of them would be giving up way too much talent and potential. To go along with this, I don’t like the idea of potentially having to give up Zhaire Smith. Zhaire is another guy who just has so much potential. And we haven’t had anytime to see what he can do yet. Giving him up could be a very haunting move down the line if he grows into a stud like many believe he can.
Think to yourself, I know Kawhi is great, but would you really feel good sending away so much potential. The cost to get him is just too high.
Trust the Process
The thought of trading away any of the young Sixer talent for Kawhi is absurd. “Trust the Process” has been preached for years, by fans and players alike, and last year the Sixers were extremely close to turning “the process” into a championship. This is not something to give up on.
However, trading away any of the Sixers’ key pieces would look a lot like blowing the process up. Think about this too, Kawhi will be a free agent in 2019 along with a couple other big time players.
The Process deserves one more year of organic growth. Just one more year to really see what this young core can do. And then when 2019 roles around, the attraction for free agents will be at an all-time high. Who knows, Kawhi could end up in Philly, but just as a free agent instead of as a trade piece.
Next: Way-too-early 2019 NBA Draft Big Board
Be patient Philly fans, don’t be hasty and blow it up now. Trust the Process: Vote no on Kawhi.