the 76ers are on the cusp

[bocabull]

OK Eielson. I broke this out into it's own thread so we can track it.

As for Embiid his injury is nothing like Oden. His is a bone, not a ligament. They are being ultra cautious making sure the bone is 100% healed and won't rush it no matter what so it won't impact his career long term. Thunder should have done the same with Durant but were impatient.

Anyway, my prediction is that they will rise like a rocket over the next 3 years. If the Lakers take Russell that would be a setback.

If they don't Russell, Wroten, Saric, Noel, Embiid is the start of something strong. And they have ample picks and salary cap to supplement that core.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Embiid and noel will never be anything but bench guys

 

[Eielson]

I guess it depends on what you mean by "on the cusp." I took it to mean something similar to "on the verge," but in reality, cusp means something different. Looking it up, it says "a pointed end where two curves meet." Yes, the 76ers have been going down for a while, and will soon turn things around, so by technical definition, yes, I believe they are on the cusp. That doesn't mean much, though, as they have nowhere but up to go. They could steadily improve over the next five years, and still not be competitive enough to earn a playoff spot if they were in the West.

The 76ers are utilizing a method that works (ex: Thunder, Clippers). If they do it right, they'll be a great team eventually; I'm just not sure they're doing it right. Even if we assume Russell is the next Harden, Noel and Embiid aren't KD and RW. At some point, the 76ers need to start stringing good picks together, and they haven't thus far. Eventually rookie contracts run out, and by the time guys like Noel develop into good players, they'll be getting paid, so that advantage is gone. I'll quot what I said in the previous thread to save me some time:

Embiid has Oden 2.0 written all over him. Noel is a quality bench player. Wroten is just a bench player. Saric could be in nice...in 2017.

40M in cap space would be nice for just about anybody other than Philly. They don't have much use for it, as that won't lure anybody. Maybe they can get Rondo for a max deal. Maybe. No chance at guys like Gasol, Aldridge, Love, or even Dragic.

Their picks this year and next year look nice, but given their success thus far, I bet it's a bit misleading. They might be good eventually, but I don't see them becoming a factor in the league much before 2020.

The 76ers current roster is unimpressive to me even if you add Russell. Russell, Noel, and Embiid aren't ever going to be the core of a championship team, and certainly not anytime soon.

Assuming bad luck for the Heat and Lakers, the 76ers may have three picks so high next year that even they couldn't screw it up, and if Russell turns out to be a star, that bodes well for them. Perhaps the Heat keep everybody, the Lakers sign a big FA, and Russell turns out to be just another good non-superstar, though.

I'd agree that the 76ers are on the cusp, but not on the verge. Nothing about their current roster impresses me. They have some potentially attractive assets, though, and could make something of them. I'd guess they aren't much of a factor in the NBA until closer to 2020.

 

[Eielson]

As for Embiid his injury is nothing like Oden. His is a bone, not a ligament. They are being ultra cautious making sure the bone is 100% healed and won't rush it no matter what so it won't impact his career long term. Thunder should have done the same with Durant but were impatient.

I've heard there is a legitimate chance Embiid could miss the entire upcoming season (in addition to the one he already missed). If this is a true injury, and not the 76ers just going after another high pick, I see no reason not to be concerned. Two whole years? Sounds like Bynum/Oden/Yao 2.0. I want nothing to do with a big man who has a major lower body injury. He had the issue at the end of his freshman season as well.

Even if the 76ers are just being ultra-cautious, and he eventually develops into a star, his rookie contract doesn't last forever. If he misses this upcoming season, that will be the first two years gone. Additionally, he was extremely raw at KU, so he'll need time to develop.

Russell, Wroten, Saric, Noel, Embiid is the start of something strong. And they have ample picks and salary cap to supplement that core.

I strongly disagree. They're going to have to get at least one star player from those future picks. Wroten, Noel, and Saric need to be the supplement.

 

[bocabull]

On the cusp means you are at a point of transition where your direction is abruptly reversed.

76ers will be a .500 club in a couple years and a playoff team within 3. That's my call. Fastest rising team in the league.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

you can be a playoff team in the east and still be crappy and have no chance at winning anything.

Saying any team in the east could be in the playoffs in 3 years is not a stretch

 

[Eielson]

On the cusp means you are at a point of transition where your direction is abruptly reversed.

For one, it won't be abruptly reversed. They'll see to it that they'll suck again for another year. That would be the smart move at this point, as they need to plan to build around Russell; not Noel or Embiid.

76ers will be a .500 club in a couple years and a playoff team within 3. That's my call. Fastest rising team in the league.

Being a playoff team in the East isn't impressive. Brooklyn went 38-44 this year and made the playoffs. It's not much of a rocket if you can only go to 38-44.

Being on the bottom of the league makes it pretty easy to attain "fastest rising team in the league" status. I don't think they have it, though. The only true candidates are the teams with 25 wins or less, and I'd probably rank the 76ers about 4th between those.

The Lakers will likely have Okafor and Randle to go with some big time FA's over the next few offseasons (and the Lakers will actually be players unlike the 76ers). The Wolves are also at an advantage as they're already headlined by Wiggins and (presumably) Towns. Their supporting cast is lightyears better as well, and includes several young guys like Lavine and Muhammad. The Magic have a lot of pieces in Payton, Vucevic, Oladipo, Gordon, and maybe Harris. That #5 pick, who I believe will be Porzingis, may become crucial, but even without that working out, they've got plenty of potential. Lastly is the Knicks, who have the biggest star out of the bunch, the #4 pick, and plenty of cap space they can actually use. There is hope for them, but I'm not confident in that FO, so I'll give the 76ers the edge as #4 out 5.

 

[bocabull]

We'll just sit back and see. Saying they will be .500 within a couple years and a playoff team within 3 I'm talking a legit playoff caliber team team regardless of conference. 76ers really did have to tank on purpose mid season because they were playing good ball. There is more talent there than people realize already.

You could just as easily compare Embiid to Blake after missing his first year as Oden. Being damaged goods like Oden is more of an outlier than not.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

You could just as easily compare Embiid to Blake after missing his first year as Oden. Being damaged goods like Oden is more of an outlier than not.

cmon

 

[SoonerBounce13]

76ers really did have to tank on purpose mid season because they were playing good ball.

http://espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/phi

show me where they were ever playing good ball last year

 

[SoonerBounce13]

maybe you mean that stretch where they won 3/4 games.....yep, that really make them pump the breaks

 

[Eielson]

cmon

X2

 

[NickZepp]

The Sixers will be in the top 3 in next years lottery too. They don't have the wings to match up in the NBA. And you don't win the NBA with a bunch of centers anymore.

 

[sperry]

Sixers are screwed. The Hinkie tanking experiment isn't going to work.


We knew this already though, as teams have been inadvertently tanking for decades. Lottery picks are incredibly hit and miss. Philly has had some bad injury luck, picked high in some low talent drafts, and got unlucky that the Lakers took Russell this year.

What they have to show for their troubles are: a guy who will be a good defensive big man, but not much else in Nerlens Noel; a guy who looks like he may never get his career off the ground in Embiid; a solid offensive post presence, but who doens't offer much defensively; and a Euro who is still years away.

 

[Smash Williams]

Sixers are screwed. The Hinkie tanking experiment isn't going to work.


We knew this already though, as teams have been inadvertently tanking for decades. Lottery picks are incredibly hit and miss. Philly has had some bad injury luck, picked high in some low talent drafts, and got unlucky that the Lakers took Russell this year.

What they have to show for their troubles are: a guy who will be a good defensive big man, but not much else in Nerlens Noel; a guy who looks like he may never get his career off the ground in Embiid; a solid offensive post presence, but who doens't offer much defensively; and a Euro who is still years away.

I defended the Hinkie experiment in the past, and I'll admit that the talent returns at this point are disappointing.

But they're only two years into it, and in Hinkie's first draft the Sixers only had the #11 pick because that was before Hinkie was hired to initiate the tanking project.

In 2016, they'll have their own first, the Lakers' first (top 3 protected, but very likely to be a mid-lotto pick), Miami's first (top 10 protected), and OKC's first (top 15 protected). Realistically, they're likely getting two more cracks (their own pick and the LAL pick) at drafting a franchise player in the next draft.

In the meantime, we'll get to see what they have in Okafor. I'm not as high on him as others are, but he has a legitimate chance to be the type of player who completely changes the way we look at the long-term future of this franchise.