NBA Preview: Philadelphia 76ers
30 teams, and the fourth one on my list for the Atlantic Division is the Philadelphia 76ers. This team finally has some intrigue after finishing near the bottom of the league in the past three seasons and purposefully "tanking" to try to accumulate the maximum amount of young talent possible. So far, if they were only focused on frontcourt players, they may have done it. If they were also focused on the backcourt, well, there is still a lot of work to be done. It is okay, though, because this team still isn't ready to compete. Expect another long season in Philadelphia, but this time around, expect some exciting but losing basketball. Oh, and the oldest player on this team is 30, outside of the veteran role model Elton Brand, who likely won't see much playing time.
ADDITIONS: PG Jerryd Bayless (Milwaukee), SG Gerald Henderson (Philadelphia), PG Sergio Rodriguez (International), C Tibor Pleiss (trade-Utah), SF Ben Simmons (draft), F Dario Saric (draft, 2 years ago), SG Timothe Luwawu (draft), SG Furkan Korkmaz (draft), and I suppose C Joel Embiid (injury)
SUBTRACTIONS: PG Isaiah Canaan (Chicago), PG Ish Smith (Detroit), PF Christian Wood (Charlotte)
RESIGNED: G/F Hollis Thompson, PF Elton Brand
This offseason shows a team that is finally willing to move forward with its' rebuilding process. There are no long-term uses for players like Jerryd Bayless and Gerald Henderson, but they are short-term players who can provide veteran help and chemistry to this extremely young club. They also finally decided not to use a lottery pick on yet another center and took F Ben Simmons instead, who some think could be the next Magic Johnson. I don't know about all that, but even a player half as good as Magic is worth having. As far as losses go, the Sixers did not lose too much, because it's frankly really hard to when you have a team as bad as this. Either Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor will get traded at some point, maybe before the season starts, and then that will be their biggest loss. Until then, the Sixers only got better and did not lose anything.
PLAYER TO WATCH: I know there are a lot of choices here, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, Okafor, Noel, heck, even Nik Stauskas, but the guy has to be the former number three overall pick in 2014, C Joel Embiid. He is FINALLY ready to play, and his potential is better than that of Okafor and Noel. Prior to his injuries delaying his career, he was drawing Hakeem Olajuwon comparisons, but then again, Greg Oden was drawing similar comparisons. It will be interesting to see if Embiid truly is the next Hakeem Olajuwon, or Greg Oden. This season will make all the difference in the world for his career, which is why he is the most intriguing on a roster full of intrigue.
BIGGEST CONCERN: Finding a time for all of the young and inexperienced players is a pretty big concern. The depth at the guard position is incredibly thin compared to the forward depth, and there is likely not enough time to go around for the development of the Robert Covington's and Richaun Holmes' of the world. The Sixers need to make a trade for a starting caliber guard, and move Bayless/Henderson to the bench, and it will also help the frontcourt have enough minutes to go around.
BIGGEST UNKNOWN: This likely goes to Joel Embiid as well, but I'm going to go with Ben Simmons here just to talk about something different. What kind of role is Ben Simmons going to play here? Is he the de facto point guard, is he the go to scorer, is he some sort of combination? I suppose the right way to ask this is, how are the Sixers going to make things work around Ben Simmons, as he is the franchise player.
STARTING FIVE: C Jahlil Okafor, PF Nerlens Noel, SF Ben Simmons, SG Gerald Henderson, PG Jerryd Bayless
ROTATIONAL PIECES: C Joel Embiid, SF Robert Covington, PG Sergio Rodriguez, F Dario Saric, PF Carl Landry, SF Jerami Grant, SG Hollis Thompson, PG TJ McConnell, SG Nik Stauskas
FILLING OUT THE ROSTER: PF Elton Brand
PREDICTION: There are a lot of moving parts, and a lot of minutes to go around in the City of Brotherly Love. Hopefully, that's how this team will function. However, even if they do function and work well together, this team is not ready to be a playoff contender, and will likely be better than only the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference. However, a 25-30 win total is the highest this team has had in a few years, and hope is on the horizon. Just not this year.
