The days of this month, my 34th June, are making me feel young again. It has brought back those childhood feelings of excitement, anxiety, and impatience. As I often did in my childhood years, I have circled a date in June with a large red marker, and each morning I strike out another day with a giant black 'X'. Replaced are visions of swimming pools and beaches and campgrounds, replaced by visions of Philadelphia 76ers caps being placed on the heads of the team's next great star, visions of salvation. The big difference between now and my school years is that I am certainly enjoying the wait leading up to the draft, whereas the countdown to that final school bell was sheer agony. I now fill my time with mock drafts, highlight reels, and trade rumors. I'm aware that this all may be wasted time, as Sam Hinkie may make moves that leave any '3 and 10' theories obsolete, but it sure is a great way to occupy my brain on those long drives to work. So here are my theories on what the Sixers should do with the #10 pick depending on who falls to #3, on whether the Sixers should trade, and what to do about free agency. Enjoy. And enjoy waiting, it might be the best part.
1. Trade or Stay Put?
On Wednesday the 4th, cbsphilly.com ran a story that said that the Sixers will reportedly do whatever it takes to get Andrew Wiggins in the upcoming draft. In the seven days since the story ran there seems to be a backlash on blogs and sports radio against the idea of trading up to get Wiggins (assuming this information isn't a Hinkie Jedi mind-fuck) if it means giving up both of the Sixers top ten selections in order to make the deal happen. I love the idea of selecting two guys in the top 10, so much so that 3 topics of this post are going to be based on that premise and all of my daydreams springing from it. Having said that I love the idea of picking twice, It's important to remember that I AM NOT AN NBA GM. I barely watch any college basketball and I have no idea what any of these guys are capable of becoming over their NBA careers, BUT I know of someone who is. Whether or not the Sixers should do "whatever it takes" really is based on Hinkie and what he thinks of the top 3 in this draft. If Hinkie feels that Wiggins (or any of these top 3) will become an MVP type player, and that the other two are merely All-stars in their prime, then you make the deal and get your man, even if it means giving up 3 and 10 and Thad. Having an MVP level player is how you win titles in the NBA. For example, I would take Kevin Durant over both James Harden and Dwight Howard any day of the week, and simply making that comparison is crazily overstating the value of the #10 pick, a pick that we would be lucky if we selected someone who made just a single all-star game. If Hinkie feels like a lot of the experts do, that the top of this draft features 3 can't miss guys, with no clear cut #1 player, then the smart move is to pick whoever falls to 3 and hang onto all of the team's other assets, but if Hinkie sees one guy as clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the class, then doing "whatever it takes" is the aggressive move required to build a great team.
Nearly every other trade rumor involving the Sixers features Thad Young as the centerpiece. Wishful thinking aside, I don't believe that Thad has significant trade value. I can't think of more than a few teams that he would be able to come in and serve as a clear upgrade over what they already have, and of those few teams most of them are in rebuilding mode so they almost certainly don't want to add salary and lose assets for a guy that won't be there at the end of the rebuild. The only landing spot that makes any sense is the Lakers, since they have front court spots open, a win now mindset, and cap space, but what would they give up? The #7 pick for Thad is not happening, they would probably do Thad and 10 for 7, but even that may not interest the Lakers. At this point I think that either Thad is coming back for next season, or the Sixers are going to add a few more second round picks to the war chest.
2. Do the 76ers Sign Parsons or Stephenson?
Obviously we will need to see how the draft shakes out before finalizing our free agent wish list, but after looking through the players who will be available to sign (and eliminating the guys who would never sign in Philly) there are two names that stand out to fans, Lance Stephenson and Chandler Parsons. Both are wings that can cover multiple spots, and most importantly they are both young enough that they could be useful at the other end of this rebuilding project.
I know this isn't exactly an original idea, but Lance is crazy. Not in a 'kooky Dr. House' kind of way, in an 'I'm an asshole' kind of way. The talent is there, but this man needs to be avoided by the Sixers (Especially since his most enticing skill, the willingness to beat up Evan Turner, would no longer be needed by the 76ers.). If he were the final piece, I would probably be in favor of signing Lance, but not on this team. Lance can never be on a team where he can plausibly think "I am definitely the best player we have." Lance could not be trusted to stay invested all season on a #1 seeded Pacers team while playing for a contract, I can only imagine how he would be next season for a 25 win Sixer team after his big payday. No thank you.
The more I think about Chandler Parsons, the more I seem to think we should really sign Parsons. He is young, athletic, and can shoot the rock. Parsons is a legit pro that you can afford to overpay since you have no salary cap issues until contract extensions come up for MCW and Noel in the summer of 2017. I would front load a 4-year $44 million contract, with the payouts decreasing from $14m in year 1, going down to $8m in year 4. Giving the team flexibility in the future, and a valuable piece now that is still young enough to grow along with the rest of the roster. I'm not in love with most of the SFs in this draft, and Parsons seems to fit with each hypothetical roster I am about to present. If next year's draft presents the team with a SF to replace Parsons in the lineup, he can become either a valuable bench performer, or a huge trade asset when you remember at that point he'll be on a very reasonable 3-year/$30m or 2-year $18m contract.
3. Scenario #1 The Sixers Draft Andrew Wiggins
Like I said, I have wasted dozens of hours daydreaming about who the Sixers should select with picks 3 and 10, and what the roster would look like come July 1. A lot of people I talk to have fallen in love with a guy at the top, and another who should be around at 10, but for me I like to think of these picks as a pair and what life would be with two guys side by side. We start with finding the Robin to Andrew Wiggins' Batman.
That's right, this Walter Jr. looking goof, Dario Saric. If we select Andrew Wiggins we would have the foundation for a defensive juggernaut with the crazy length of Wiggins, Noel, and MCW. So why take Saric, an offensive savant not known for his D? Because defense is f***ing BORING!!! I don't want to watch the god damned Indiana Pacers win games 84-73, and may I say that neither do you Philadelphia. Adding Saric is like taking the Pacers and replacing David West with Hedo Turkgulo in his prime (which was amazing kids, he was the second banana on a finals team). So take the Pacers and add a point forward to liven up the offense and now you have something.
PG: MCW
SG: Wiggins
SF: TBD (Hollis is still around, Parsons I've already mentioned, Trevor Ariza might be an option via free agency although I don't love adding older players. Also, Saric could start at 3 with Thad as the 4)
PF: Dario Saric
C: Nerlens Noel
Bench: Thad Young (not really, Thad is definitely a goner, let's just say this spot is for whatever we get for Thad), J-Rich, Tony Wroten, Henry Sims, Brandon Davies, Jarvis Vornado and 11 second rounders.
4. Scenario #2: The Sixers Select Joel Embiid
Drafting Embiid seems like the least likely of the 3 possible scenarios according to the 5,347 mock drafts I have read, but what the hell. If we are projecting Embiid as Hakeem, then Nerlens will be moved to the 4, which means you are going to need some snipers to space the floor and let these to giants do their thing. So if we do get Embiid, I think Nik Stauskas should be our selection at 10. Stauskas is described as the best shooter in the draft class, and as a competent athlete by NBA standards.(CODE FOR: kind of slow, but not that bad for a white guy) With multiple shot-blockers behind him, Stauskas and the Sixers wings will be able to play aggressive on-ball defense without worry of surrendering easy shots at the rim, because with Noel and Embiid side by side there will be no easy shots at the rim against the Sixers, ever. Honestly, I'm not excited for this scenario because big man oriented offense is generally boring (not you, Shaq). This scenario will require Nerlens Noel to develop an 18-footer to keep the defenses spread. If Noel struggles with his shot, he may have to be moved for a better fit (apologies to my brother Ray for suggesting this, he has become a crazy person lately that shouts TWIN TOWERS! every time we speak) . Hinkie only knows where Noel is in teams of fitting in with an NBA offense, and if the Sixers do select Embiid perhaps Hinkie has the Sixers make a move on draft night to flip Noel to LA, Sacramento, or Charlotte for a lottery pick, which they could use on a PF with a more traditional skill set such as Vonleh, Randle, or Saric, and still get their shooter at 10 (if not Stauskas, perhaps Gary Harris who is a much better defender).
With Noel: Without Noel:
PG: MCW PG: MCW
SG: Nik Stauskas SG: Nik Stauskas
SF: Thad? TBD (see above) SF: Thad? TBD?
PF: Nerlens Noel PF: Julius Randle (injured, may fall to 7-10)
C: Joel Embiid C: Joel Embiid
I think I like the lineup with a traditional PF better, but feel free to disagree. I know Ray does.
5. Scenario #3: The Sixers Draft Jabari Parker
I switched allegiances from team Wiggins to team Parker about 7 seconds after the Sixers emblem emerged from the #3 envelope on lottery night. Now I can't wait for Parker to get to Philly. As a season ticket holder for a few years now, I have never seen a Sixer player go off for 40 points, hell, I think I've only seen three or four 30 point games. I want a guy who fills it up, I want a guy who can have 25 by halftime, that seems like it would be fun to watch. The problem with Parker is his defense, he'll have to defend the PF position, so we'll need wing that can defend as a match to Parker in order to limit the damage other teams can do against him. I love everything I read about Gary Harris, but he is too small to defend both wing spots, I'm going to go with the longer James Young at 10 in this scenario.
Lineup
PG: MCW
SG: TBD (Have to think, the Sixers hope to grab a late 1st for Thad an maybe can slot in a guy like Rondey Hood, Zach Lavine, or PJ Hairston.
SF: James Young
PF: Jabari Parker
C: Nerlens Noel
The beauty of the Sixers' current situation is that I will be excited for any of these outcomes, at this point it seems like we can't lose! I've gotten myself excited, so let's wrap this up with a song.
6. SIXERS!!!!!!!
