The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers voted as brightest young talent by GMs

By Lucas Johnson

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 28: Ben Simmons #25, Joel Embiid #21, and Markelle Fultz #20 of the Philadelphia 76ers react against Melbourne United in the preseason game at Wells Fargo Center on September 28, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 28: Ben Simmons #25, Joel Embiid #21, and Markelle Fultz #20 of the Philadelphia 76ers react against Melbourne United in the preseason game at Wells Fargo Center on September 28, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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The NBA has recognized that the Philadelphia 76ers really do have one of the most enticing young cores throughout all of the Association.

The yearly NBA GM Survey is out and there’s plenty of good, as well as,  negatives that can be taken from it. One of the best positives for the Philadelphia 76ers and their fans is that the team was voted as the club with “…the most promising young core“. The Sixers have the best young talent over the other teams that were in the running.

The 76ers easily were given the title by earning 47.0 percent of the vote. The Boston Celtics, along with Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns, all rounded out the top vote getting franchises. The Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets also registered a percentage of votes, but not enough to be considered among the top three and won’t be discussed in this article.

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The Boston Celtics was the closest to Philadelphia in votes, receiving 33.0 percent. There’s no denying the young talent on the Celtic’s roster and with Kyrie Irving along with Gordon Hayward on the roster, Boston is a more talented team than Philly overall. Jayson Tatum has the potential to become an elite scoring forward, while Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier appear to be on their way to becoming defensive aces with above average offensive skills.

Tatum appears to be the only player that has All-Star potential out of the group at the moment, which doesn’t make Boston’s young core as good as Philly’s. The Sixer’s have at least two players that can make an All-Star game in Joel Embiid (who already has made one) and Ben Simmons.

Both the Bulls and Suns tied for third with 7.0 percent of the vote. The Bulls have an unique young core and budding offensive stars Jabari Parker and Zach LaVine. However, health is a concern for both players and both lack quality defensive skills.

Both Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. are interesting prospects. However, Markkanen is still too raw of a prospect to really know how good he can be and Carter has yet to see NBA regular season action, so making a prediction on his potential wouldn’t be fair. In short, the Bulls have a lot of good pieces but no prospect that has the potential to become an elite talent as of now.

Then there’s the Suns. Devin Booker is a generational scorer and should see an All-Star game in the near future. Beyond Booker, the Suns still have more questions than answers. Deandre Ayton should be good, assuming that Embiid’s trash talk doesn’t get into his head. However, he’s a rookie like Carter, so it wouldn’t be fair to make a prediction about his potential because he hasn’t seen regular season action yet.

Josh Jackson only showed glimpses of offensive potential during his rookie year and Dragan Bender is in a make it or break it year. If Bender doesn’t show drastic improvement then there’s a good chance he becomes one of the biggest draft busts in Suns franchise history. Clearly the Suns have a franchise player in Booker, but still have too many questions surrounding other players to be considered a team with a lot of promise.

As mentioned above, the Sixers have Simmons and Embiid anchoring the franchise moving forward. Embiid has already earned an All-Defense second team and All-NBA second team honors before his third season has even began. Simmons is already one of the best point guards in the Eastern conference and the reigning Rookie of the Year is a walking triple-double threat.

Don’t forget that Philly also has one of the better European players in the league in Dario Saric. Then there’s Markelle Fultz who has yet to live up to his status as the number one pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, but he has shown plenty of progress during this preseason.

Next. Fultz should be a full-time starter. dark

There’s other teams in the NBA that have good young cores, but only the Philadelphia 76ers have multiple players with elite talent in Simmons and Embiid. They make the Sixers far more superior then the other young cores the 76ers will face down the road. NBA GM’s made the right call voting Philly with the best young core.