The Philadelphia 76ers had just restarted a new era in their championship chase, but their latest phase could not have gotten off to a rockier start. After being initially pegged as one of the biggest threats to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy next June, they have instead sputtered and slumbered out of the gates.
While there is still a ton of basketball to be played, the 76ers still somehow resemble a complacent squad — an audacious posture to take for a team adorned with a meager 4-14 win-loss card, a record good for second-worst in an Eastern Conference race they probably expected to ace for the most part.
Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that Philadelphia is extremely unlikely to win the title as currently constructed. While talent is overflowing on the roster, they have been pretty lacking in all other areas. And at this juncture, the front office could once again be slated for a desperate salvo to save their ship.
The 76ers could reportedly pursue a reckless plan
In light of their hideous start to the season, the prevailing belief is that the 76ers are now unlikely to keep their first-round pick next year. According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, league sources are not banking on the club to make a “full-on attempt” to be a player in next year’s draft class.
The 2025 NBA Draft class is actually reckoned to be a pretty deep and talented one, but it seems that Philly is now desperate to go further down the rabbit hole and quadruple down on their already boisterous win-now resolve.
But is this a good move on the part of the 76ers, if true? As of the moment, this only mirrors the front office’s desperation to save face and not interrupt what they had already kickstarted by signing Paul George and extending Paul George. They are clearly on the point of no-return, and pivoting back to any degree would be a bad look for the franchise.
Still, simply throwing away a valuable asset like their 2025 first-rounder, which currently has a good chance of landing in the lottery, is bad asset management. The 76ers are already hoarded with talent, and the answer to their problems is not going after another established player, another mouth to feed.
Also, in account of new CBA restrictions, competitive teams are much better off building with cheap contracts through the draft. Cutting off that avenue does not only curtail roster-building for the Philadelphia 76ers for the present — it also ensures that the franchise’s future turn bleak by design.