All of a suddent, things are starting to look much better for the Philadelphia 76ers this season. After dropping seven straight games to get to as much as 12 games below .500, they managed to win three consecutive wins, bringing them closer to cracking the top ten in the Eastern Conference after a devastating start to the calendar year.
Yet with each passing day, the 76ers simply look like they are still trying to find their mojo as a group. This team is still far from being a playoff-caliber squad, and with the second half of the season having already begun, time is of the essence. They must make the most of their current winning momentum to completely turn their campaign around.
Having said that, Philadelphia’s front office has to move along the tides of reality and see to it that they avoid pulling off shortsighted moves — the last thing they need amid their losing cause. And with the trade deadline just right around the corner, their acuity and vision in team-building will be put on the burner.
76ers fans will not like what the team owner just said about drafting
The 76ers remain an unpredictable bunch come the trade deadline. The front office, after all, would be incentivized to take on the role of being buyers and sellers. On one hand, this team is way too talented to just break up and not ameliorate with upgrades. On the other, the hard reality is that this group will not win the championship this season and the front office must try to extract assets out of their underperfoming players.
However, no matter what route they take, one thing they cannot do is to entirely forego the opportunity that is the NBA Draft. While tanking would definitely be a hard sell for this team given its current momentum, the consensus believes that the 76ers would be much better off punting on this season and trying to dip their toes into the lottery game.
Unfortunately for the team tank people, the team’s ownership does not resonate with the same idea. According to NBA insider David Aldridge, league sources have told him that the 76ers brass does not see much difference between picking fifth to sixth or doing so in a later position.
That is simply so detached on many fronts. Disregarding the value of a draft pick that could potentially be landscape-altering, just as they have already pulled of this season with Jared McCain, is purely wrong. Given the depth of talent in this year’s draft class, snagging, say, the fifth or sixth pick away from Oklahoma City’s grasp would be a massive opportunity.
Hopefully, the Philadelphia 76ers operate with a long-term vision moving forward. This season may already be a failed one, but they sure still have something to do to make themselves start on better footing in the upcoming years.