Season Predictions 2016
Current seeding: 15th
Projected seeding: 15th
*sigh*. Another year, another season of tanking, and please don’t let it be another year of drafting an (injured) center. The dark spots are too numerous and depressing to go through, so let’s go through the bright spots instead. PF/SF Robert Covington has played excellently and has proven himself to be probably the only reliable three-point shooter on the team, PG Ish Smith was an amazing acquisition and is averaging 12.4 and 6.5 assists per game, PF/C Nerlens Noel has kind of improved a little bit on offense this season, C Jahlil Okafor has had a very solid rookie season, and there has been modest improvement amongst some other young players as well, such as SG Nik Stauskas. But the Sixers are still the Sixers, and it’ll be at least another year or two before I can give a legitimate review about a legitimate Philadelphia team.
Trade Grades
Click here for link to the Houston Rockets Trade Grades
76ers get: C Joel Anthony, 2017 second-rounder
Rockets get: Rights to Chukwudiebere Maduabum
Translation: Rockets dump Joel Anthony's $2.5 million contract on 76ers, and give them a second-rounder in exchange for taking on the money. Classic GM Sam Hinkie move. I'm not going to get into the debate about whether or not the 76ers are heading in the right direction or not, but for the direction they are heading in (which is south, for sure), this was an excellent move. As Philly had no use for the cap space eaten up by Anthony anyways, they essentially got a free second-rounder here. Can't penalize 'em for that.
Grade: A
Trade Grades
(Click here for a link to the New Orleans Pelicans' Trade Grades)
76ers get: PG Ish Smith
Pelicans get: 2016 second-rounder via Denver, 2017 second-rounder
Philadelphia also released PG Tony Wroten in the wake of acquiring Smith. The trio of rookie PG T.J. McConnell, journeyman PG Kendall Marshall, and Wroten was simply not getting the job done at point guard: Philly ranks 28th in point guard scoring this season. Smith offers an intriguing upgrade, an excellent facilitator averaging just short of 9 points and 6 assists in just 23 minutes per game as the backup on New Orleans to... Jrue Holiday (how ironic is that?)! While obviously not able to single-handedly pull the 76ers out of the gutter, Smith is on an expiring contract worth about $1 million and cannot hurt. The second-rounders could have some value as they could be early in round number two, but with the plethora of picks and prospects that Philadelphia already has, flipping a couple of them for some much-needed stability at point guard was the right call.
Grade: B+
Power Rankings
Overall Ranking: 30th
Tier: Bottom Feeders
Projected Seeding: 15th in East
Well, I don't think that this ranking came as much surprise to anyone, including Philadelphia's front office. It has been all but confirmed that the 76ers are open to losing games rather than winning them, or tanking, in an effort to acquire higher draft picks and more young players in hopes of success in the long run. If trading away starters PG Jrue Holiday, SF/SG Evan Turner, PF/SF Thaddeus Young, C/PF Spencer Hawes, PG/SG Michael Carter-Williams, and more, in exchange for prospects, draft picks, and expiring contracts wasn't enough; just look at how Philadelphia actually used their draft picks. Recent use of first-rounders include SF Dario Saric, who was projected to spend the next few years overseas before joining the NBA when selected, C Joel Embiid, who had major injury concerns when he was drafted that proved to be valid, and PG/Sg Michael Carter-Williams, who was traded away halfway into his second season (for another first-round pick, I might add) that showed a relative plateau from his inaugural Rookie of the Year campaign. The promising young offense-defense frontcourt duo of C Jahlil Okafor and PF/C Nerlens Noel account for 90% of tangible substance that Philadelphia has to show for the past few years of stink. The other prospects that round out the starting five are SG Nik Stuaskas and SF/PF Robert Covington, with point guard being a complete question mark as it is currently being run by PG Isaiah Canaan and PG T.J McConnell. All of these guys, and others, are very young and are bursting with potential, yet imagining any of them turning into stars can be difficult. As of now, Okafor and Noel (and possibly being joined by Saric and Embiid) are the only real cornerstones of this franchise, along with one or more of the slew of future Philadelphia draft picks, of course. But notice how this is all about the future, while the present... well, let's just say it demands patience for now.
Best/Worst Draft Scenarios
(#3 pick)
Best Case Scenario: Drafting PG/SG D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State, Freshman)
The case could be made for China’s PG Emmanuel Mudiay here, but Russell is the safer and more talented option. The most dynamic scorer in this class, Russell averaged 19.3 points per game with respectable efficiency: 45% from the field and 76% from the line. While an excellent slasher as well, Russell particularly excels in the three-ball, connecting on 2.7 per game on a blazing 41% clip. In addition, he also chipped in 5.7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. With a frontcourt duo of the future consisting of defensive studs PF/C Nerlens Noel and C Joel Embiid, the 76ers could really use a go-to scorer and some three-point shooting -- something that Mudiay can’t necessarily offer. Though turnovers (3 per game) and athleticism are slight issues, Russell should have no problem handling the offense just as well, if not better, than former Philadelphia PG Michael Carter-Williams.
Worst Case Scenario: Drafting PG Emmanuel Mudiay (China, 19 years old)
Throw the fast-rising PF/C Kristaps Porzingis’ name next to Mudiay’s. This is by no means an insult to the phenomenal point guard, nor one to the Latvian power forward. Mudiay is a fantastic point guard, capable of taking over the reins of a franchise in due time, and could be an instant contributor. Averaging 18 points, 6.3 assists, 6 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game -- all while shooting 48% from the field -- in his time in China, there’s no denying Mudiay’s talent and potential. However, he shot an awful 57.4% from the line and a below-average 34% from long-range. As Noel and Embiid in their frontcourt already present spacing issues and don’t necessarily need a flashy passer like Mudiay to operate. D’Angelo Russell is simply the better fit for Philly.
Draft Targets
Pick #3: Emmanuel Mudiay, Point Guard/Shooting Guard, China
While Ohio State SG/PG D’Angelo Russell would certainly be the flashier pick here, Mudiay is the better one. Russell plays as more of a shooting guard than a point guard, and after trading away reigning Rookie of the Year PG/SG Michael Carter-Williams, the 76ers will look to address their hole at floor general. Mudiay can do so with mismatch size at 6’5”, just like Carter-Williams, as well as ridiculous athleticism and great driving skills that start with his lightning-quick first step. His jumper is still a work in progress (also just like Carter-Williams), but then again, so is Philadelphia’s roster.
Season Predictions
Regular Season: Sort of unfortunately for the 76ers, for the second-straight year, they will not have the worst record in the league because other teams are accidentally even worse. Last year, it was the Bucks, and this year the Timberwolves and Knicks are competing for the best odds at the number one overall pick in the upcoming draft. Philadelphia is tanking, so they intend to be bad year after year as they continuously trade away their players for draft picks in an effort to rebuild through the draft. This season should be no different, as even their starting five consists of no-names that would barely be role players on other teams. Expect another calculated horrible record from the 76ers.
Projected Record: 17-65, 14th in East
Trade Grades
76ers get: Los Angeles Lakers’ 2015 first-rounder via Phoenix (top 5 protected, turns into top 3 protected pick in 2016 if not conveyed)
Bucks get: PG/SG Michael Carter-Williams, PG Tyler Ennis, C/PF Miles Plumlee
Suns get: PG/SG Brandon Knight, PG Kendall Marshall
And Philadelphia continues to trade away their players for draft picks. This one has to cross some sort of line with the fan base though. Carter-Williams, though slightly regressing and still dealing with turning the ball over and inefficient shooting, remains the reigning Rookie of the Year. He’s playing like it too, putting up numbers across the board: 15 points, 7.5 assists, 6 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1 three per game. He is certainly worth more than a first-rounder, much less a protected one, as he represents one of the few cornerstones this rebuilding team has moving forward. This trade is absolutely shocking. Thank goodness the Sixers made up for this (sort of) by ripping Denver off in the Javale McGee trade.
Grade: D+
Trade Grades
76ers get: PG Isaiah Canaan and second-rounder
Rockets get: SG/SF K.J McDaniels
You’d think that Philadelphia can just hang onto some of its players without flipping them all for draft picks. Alas, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Getting a second-rounder for perhaps the best second-round selection in recent memory just doesn’t make sense. That second-round selection is K.J McDaniels. The Clemson product does a bit of everything, averaging 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1 steal, and 1 three per game. Canaan doesn’t do much to replace him, with averages of a mere 6 points and 1.5 threes a game, and only adding 1 assist in 15 minutes a game. All in all, a dubious move by a franchise that’s just overloading on draft picks.
Grade: C
Trade Grades
76ers get: C Javale McGee, PF Chukwudiebere Maduabum, Oklahoma City’s 2015 first-rounder (top 18 protected this year, top 15 protected in 2016 and 2017, turns into 2018 and 2019 second-rounders if not conveyed)
Nuggets get: SF/SG Cenk Akyol
This trade can be a little bit confusing, as you likely haven’t heard of either of those two foreign guys. And you don’t have to. Neither has any value and it’s unlikely that either will even play in the pros. This deal is simply a salary dump, with Denver sending the overpaid McGee to Philadelphia, as well as the first-rounder, of course, to make the deal fair. As much of a star Mcgee is on "Shaqtin' A Fool", the only thing the Sixers have their eyes set on in this deal is the draft pick. McGee is due for $23.25 million combined over the next two years, which isn’t so bad when you consider that Philadelphia is getting a first-rounder out of this trade. It remains to be seen whether or not the Thunder can climb up from the 15th best record in the league to the 11th this season. This is important because since there are 30 teams, the 11th best record translates to a top 19 pick, which would mean Philadelphia gets Oklahoma City’s draft choice. If not, however, the pick will surely be conveyed next year, as the Thunder are a title contender, not a lottery team that will have a top 14 pick. Either way, the Sixers, as a young rebuilding team with plenty of cap space looking to stockpile draft picks, did exactly what they needed to do at the deadline: take on a bad contract and get another draft pick out of it.
Grade: A+
One Trade That Every Team Should Do
Philadelphia gets: SG C.J Wilcox, SF Hedo Turkoglu, PF Ekpe Udoh
Los Angeles Clippers get: SF/PF Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
Finances: Mbah a Moute is on an expiring contract worth $.4 million, and so are Turkoglu and Udoh. However, these guys are just contract fill-ins, and their deals are worth less than $1 million each. Wilcox is only owed $1.1 million this year, as he is still on his cheap rookie deal. He is the prize of this deal for Philadelphia.
The Fit: As the Sixers continue to strip down their roster of veteran parts in favor of younger players and draft picks, it makes sense for Mbah a Moute to be the next out the door. The Clippers are probably the team that would give the most for the forward, and Wilcox is really the only asset LA has that would be of interest to Philadelphia, as they are devoid of future draft picks. The rookie could come in and instantly compete for minutes with the Sixers, unlike in LA, where he’s only averaging 5.5 minutes per game. GM Sam Hinkie continues to acquire future assets at his veterans’ expense, and this trade is no different.
Why the other team does it: Turkoglu and Udoh were borderline benchwarmers, and so was Wilcox, though he likely won’t be in a few years. Mbah a Moute is averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds per game, to go along with 1.5 steals. He fills a clear hole for a playoff team at small forward, and could be the missing link for the Clippers to win their first ever championship.
State of the Franchise
Projected Cap Space (before luxury tax): $62.3 million
Background: Though it feels like ages ago, the Sixers only began their tank-tastic ways in the 2013 draft, where they dealt promising All-Star PG Jrue Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for two first-round draft picks. Ever since then, GM Sam Hinkie has been tearing down the roster, dealing away all veterans in exchange for future draft picks. The next season, SG/SF Evan Turner and C Spencer Hawes were traded to the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers respectively for second-round picks, in advance of the trade deadline, and SF/PF Thaddeus Young was the final domino of the Holiday-led Sixers, to fall. He was dealt to Minnesota as part of the three-team deal that sent superstar PF Kevin Love to Cleveland, as well as a first-rounder to Philadelphia. Even SG/PG Alexey Shved, a role player acquired in the Young deal, was exchanged with Houston for another second-round draft choice. Now with a ridiculous amount of future draft picks and plenty of prospects to boot, the rebuild is on in the City of Brotherly Love. It is led by reigning rookie of the year PG Michael-Carter Williams, though he is having a disappointing sophomore campaign and has even faced trade rumors recently. PF/C Nerlens Noel, taken as one of the picks acquired from New Orleans, is having a nice “rookie” season, even though he was drafted in 2013: he sat out the entire 2013-2014 campaign with an ACL injury, making him a “rookie” this year as this is the season where he played his first NBA game. C Joel Embiid and SF Dario Saric were selected by the Sixers in this year’s draft with the third and twelfth picks respectively, but neither will likely play a game this year, as Embiid, like fellow big man Noel, is dealing with an injury in his rookie year, and Saric will spend the next couple of years in the Adriatic league. So why is it that the Sixers want so badly to lose, and are succeeding with the third-worst record in the NBA? Why is it that they trade away all of their good players for draft picks? Why is it that seemingly whenever the Sixers draft a player, they don’t even play that year? The answer is tanking, and it is one of the bigger problems in the NBA today. In a nutshell, tanking is purposely losing games in order to get a better draft pick. And in reality, it’s not a bad idea. The strategy behind tanking over multiple years and acquiring draft picks is to be successful in the long run, once your young guys hit their primes. The Oklahoma City Thunder, then the Seattle Supersonics, are pretty much the model for long-term tanking. In the span of a few years, they drafted superstars SF Kevin Durant, PG Russell Westbrook, PF/C Serge Ibaka, and SG James Harden, morphing themselves into a perennial title contender, though Harden is now with the Houston Rockets. The reason teams elect to tank, as opposed to try to contend, is simple: if you were a team and knew you weren’t going to make the playoffs anyways, or would just get a low seed and be eliminated in the first round, what makes more sense: getting the 14th-worst record and having a 0.1% chance at the number draft one pick, or getting the worst record, and sitting on a 25% chance at nabbing the number one pick? For the Sixers, they certainly think the latter.
Current Financial State: As the Sixers refuse to sign any free agents and resolve to simply build through the draft, staying above the salary floor is a much bigger concern for them than staying below the luxury tax line. Building through the draft certainly has its perks, with the main one being the cheap rookie contracts. Philadelphia is paying a league-low $41.5 million this season, and they only currently have $14.5 million committed for next season, with every dollar of that being put towards a rookie deal. The Sixers are probably the only team in the NBA without salary cap issues, and they don’t intend to change that for a while.
Targets: As the Sixers are not actually trying to be competitive for at least another couple of years, they will likely not target anybody in specific this offseason, despite their surplus of available cash. Instead, they can use their available cap space to acquire even more draft picks. They can do this by taking on a bad contract from a team and a draft pick in exchange for next to nothing. These trades, as you can see from all the bad contracts currently in the NBA, are more common than you would think. The Sacramento Kings are hurting from poor decisions in the past, most notably from backup PF’s Carl Landry and Jason Thompson being originally signed for a combined 9 years/$56+ million just 12 months apart from each other, and now the Kings are left overpaying a couple of role players. However, we know how much the Sixers love second-rounders, and the Kings have two of them this season. Sacramento would be more than willing to dump Landry or Thompson’s 3 year/$20 million contract on Philadelphia and add a couple of second-rounders to sweeten the deal. Philadelphia would, in turn, send the expiring contract of SF/PF Luc Richard Mbah A Moute to Sacramento. One player that the Sixers have of actual value is veteran SF Andrei Kirilenko, who is on an expiring contract worth $3.3 million. One team that could really use Kirilenko’s services is the Los Angeles Clippers, who have been in the market for a small forward for years now. The Clippers could even out the salaries by sending the cheap expiring contract of little-used SF Hedo Turkoglu to Philly for “AK-47” (jersey number is 47 and initials are “AK”), but of course the Clippers would also have to cough up a second-rounder. There have been rumors that the Sixers are shopping sophomore PG Michael-Carter Williams, but it would be foolish to give up on the reigning Rookie of the Year so soon. Yes, Carter-Williams is only averaging 38% shooting from the field, a downgrade from the already-disastrous 40.5% last year, but inefficient shooting is a common issue for younger guards. MCW is still averaging 15 points, 7.5 assists, 6 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1 three per game this year, slightly worse numbers than last year, but still very impressive for someone his age. Carter-Williams is oozing potential, but giving up on him so quickly makes little sense, especially with the trade market likely very lean due to his inefficient shooting.
The Fit: PF’s Carl Landry or Jason Thompson would actually take on quite a big role in Philadelphia, in contrast to many of these other players in trades that the team doesn't actually want. They are both veterans who are capable of playing 20 minutes per game, and if you play for the Sixers right now, that likely means you’re a 36 minute per game full-time starter kind of guy. However, Landry/Thompson playing minutes at power forward at someone like Nerlens Noel’s expense would be foolish, as Noel represents the future of the franchise, while neither of these veterans will likely ever play in Philadelphia again once their contracts come off the books. Turkoglu will likely not eat into second-round draft pick rookie SF K.J McDaniels’s minutes, who is looking like the steal of the draft so far (so all those second-rounders do pay off!). The Clemson product is putting together a nice rookie season, averaging 1 three, 1 steal, and 1.3 blocks per game to go along with 9 points. There is light at the end of the tunnel through all this tanking in Philadelphia, but you’d need 20/20 vision to see it right now.
Current seeding: 15th
Projected seeding: 15th
*sigh*. Another year, another season of tanking, and please don’t let it be another year of drafting an (injured) center. The dark spots are too numerous and depressing to go through, so let’s go through the bright spots instead. PF/SF Robert Covington has played excellently and has proven himself to be probably the only reliable three-point shooter on the team, PG Ish Smith was an amazing acquisition and is averaging 12.4 and 6.5 assists per game, PF/C Nerlens Noel has kind of improved a little bit on offense this season, C Jahlil Okafor has had a very solid rookie season, and there has been modest improvement amongst some other young players as well, such as SG Nik Stauskas. But the Sixers are still the Sixers, and it’ll be at least another year or two before I can give a legitimate review about a legitimate Philadelphia team.
Trade Grades
Click here for link to the Houston Rockets Trade Grades
76ers get: C Joel Anthony, 2017 second-rounder
Rockets get: Rights to Chukwudiebere Maduabum
Translation: Rockets dump Joel Anthony's $2.5 million contract on 76ers, and give them a second-rounder in exchange for taking on the money. Classic GM Sam Hinkie move. I'm not going to get into the debate about whether or not the 76ers are heading in the right direction or not, but for the direction they are heading in (which is south, for sure), this was an excellent move. As Philly had no use for the cap space eaten up by Anthony anyways, they essentially got a free second-rounder here. Can't penalize 'em for that.
Grade: A
Trade Grades
(Click here for a link to the New Orleans Pelicans' Trade Grades)
76ers get: PG Ish Smith
Pelicans get: 2016 second-rounder via Denver, 2017 second-rounder
Philadelphia also released PG Tony Wroten in the wake of acquiring Smith. The trio of rookie PG T.J. McConnell, journeyman PG Kendall Marshall, and Wroten was simply not getting the job done at point guard: Philly ranks 28th in point guard scoring this season. Smith offers an intriguing upgrade, an excellent facilitator averaging just short of 9 points and 6 assists in just 23 minutes per game as the backup on New Orleans to... Jrue Holiday (how ironic is that?)! While obviously not able to single-handedly pull the 76ers out of the gutter, Smith is on an expiring contract worth about $1 million and cannot hurt. The second-rounders could have some value as they could be early in round number two, but with the plethora of picks and prospects that Philadelphia already has, flipping a couple of them for some much-needed stability at point guard was the right call.
Grade: B+
Power Rankings
Overall Ranking: 30th
Tier: Bottom Feeders
Projected Seeding: 15th in East
Well, I don't think that this ranking came as much surprise to anyone, including Philadelphia's front office. It has been all but confirmed that the 76ers are open to losing games rather than winning them, or tanking, in an effort to acquire higher draft picks and more young players in hopes of success in the long run. If trading away starters PG Jrue Holiday, SF/SG Evan Turner, PF/SF Thaddeus Young, C/PF Spencer Hawes, PG/SG Michael Carter-Williams, and more, in exchange for prospects, draft picks, and expiring contracts wasn't enough; just look at how Philadelphia actually used their draft picks. Recent use of first-rounders include SF Dario Saric, who was projected to spend the next few years overseas before joining the NBA when selected, C Joel Embiid, who had major injury concerns when he was drafted that proved to be valid, and PG/Sg Michael Carter-Williams, who was traded away halfway into his second season (for another first-round pick, I might add) that showed a relative plateau from his inaugural Rookie of the Year campaign. The promising young offense-defense frontcourt duo of C Jahlil Okafor and PF/C Nerlens Noel account for 90% of tangible substance that Philadelphia has to show for the past few years of stink. The other prospects that round out the starting five are SG Nik Stuaskas and SF/PF Robert Covington, with point guard being a complete question mark as it is currently being run by PG Isaiah Canaan and PG T.J McConnell. All of these guys, and others, are very young and are bursting with potential, yet imagining any of them turning into stars can be difficult. As of now, Okafor and Noel (and possibly being joined by Saric and Embiid) are the only real cornerstones of this franchise, along with one or more of the slew of future Philadelphia draft picks, of course. But notice how this is all about the future, while the present... well, let's just say it demands patience for now.
Best/Worst Draft Scenarios
(#3 pick)
Best Case Scenario: Drafting PG/SG D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State, Freshman)
The case could be made for China’s PG Emmanuel Mudiay here, but Russell is the safer and more talented option. The most dynamic scorer in this class, Russell averaged 19.3 points per game with respectable efficiency: 45% from the field and 76% from the line. While an excellent slasher as well, Russell particularly excels in the three-ball, connecting on 2.7 per game on a blazing 41% clip. In addition, he also chipped in 5.7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. With a frontcourt duo of the future consisting of defensive studs PF/C Nerlens Noel and C Joel Embiid, the 76ers could really use a go-to scorer and some three-point shooting -- something that Mudiay can’t necessarily offer. Though turnovers (3 per game) and athleticism are slight issues, Russell should have no problem handling the offense just as well, if not better, than former Philadelphia PG Michael Carter-Williams.
Worst Case Scenario: Drafting PG Emmanuel Mudiay (China, 19 years old)
Throw the fast-rising PF/C Kristaps Porzingis’ name next to Mudiay’s. This is by no means an insult to the phenomenal point guard, nor one to the Latvian power forward. Mudiay is a fantastic point guard, capable of taking over the reins of a franchise in due time, and could be an instant contributor. Averaging 18 points, 6.3 assists, 6 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game -- all while shooting 48% from the field -- in his time in China, there’s no denying Mudiay’s talent and potential. However, he shot an awful 57.4% from the line and a below-average 34% from long-range. As Noel and Embiid in their frontcourt already present spacing issues and don’t necessarily need a flashy passer like Mudiay to operate. D’Angelo Russell is simply the better fit for Philly.
Draft Targets
Pick #3: Emmanuel Mudiay, Point Guard/Shooting Guard, China
While Ohio State SG/PG D’Angelo Russell would certainly be the flashier pick here, Mudiay is the better one. Russell plays as more of a shooting guard than a point guard, and after trading away reigning Rookie of the Year PG/SG Michael Carter-Williams, the 76ers will look to address their hole at floor general. Mudiay can do so with mismatch size at 6’5”, just like Carter-Williams, as well as ridiculous athleticism and great driving skills that start with his lightning-quick first step. His jumper is still a work in progress (also just like Carter-Williams), but then again, so is Philadelphia’s roster.
Season Predictions
Regular Season: Sort of unfortunately for the 76ers, for the second-straight year, they will not have the worst record in the league because other teams are accidentally even worse. Last year, it was the Bucks, and this year the Timberwolves and Knicks are competing for the best odds at the number one overall pick in the upcoming draft. Philadelphia is tanking, so they intend to be bad year after year as they continuously trade away their players for draft picks in an effort to rebuild through the draft. This season should be no different, as even their starting five consists of no-names that would barely be role players on other teams. Expect another calculated horrible record from the 76ers.
Projected Record: 17-65, 14th in East
Trade Grades
76ers get: Los Angeles Lakers’ 2015 first-rounder via Phoenix (top 5 protected, turns into top 3 protected pick in 2016 if not conveyed)
Bucks get: PG/SG Michael Carter-Williams, PG Tyler Ennis, C/PF Miles Plumlee
Suns get: PG/SG Brandon Knight, PG Kendall Marshall
And Philadelphia continues to trade away their players for draft picks. This one has to cross some sort of line with the fan base though. Carter-Williams, though slightly regressing and still dealing with turning the ball over and inefficient shooting, remains the reigning Rookie of the Year. He’s playing like it too, putting up numbers across the board: 15 points, 7.5 assists, 6 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1 three per game. He is certainly worth more than a first-rounder, much less a protected one, as he represents one of the few cornerstones this rebuilding team has moving forward. This trade is absolutely shocking. Thank goodness the Sixers made up for this (sort of) by ripping Denver off in the Javale McGee trade.
Grade: D+
Trade Grades
76ers get: PG Isaiah Canaan and second-rounder
Rockets get: SG/SF K.J McDaniels
You’d think that Philadelphia can just hang onto some of its players without flipping them all for draft picks. Alas, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Getting a second-rounder for perhaps the best second-round selection in recent memory just doesn’t make sense. That second-round selection is K.J McDaniels. The Clemson product does a bit of everything, averaging 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1 steal, and 1 three per game. Canaan doesn’t do much to replace him, with averages of a mere 6 points and 1.5 threes a game, and only adding 1 assist in 15 minutes a game. All in all, a dubious move by a franchise that’s just overloading on draft picks.
Grade: C
Trade Grades
76ers get: C Javale McGee, PF Chukwudiebere Maduabum, Oklahoma City’s 2015 first-rounder (top 18 protected this year, top 15 protected in 2016 and 2017, turns into 2018 and 2019 second-rounders if not conveyed)
Nuggets get: SF/SG Cenk Akyol
This trade can be a little bit confusing, as you likely haven’t heard of either of those two foreign guys. And you don’t have to. Neither has any value and it’s unlikely that either will even play in the pros. This deal is simply a salary dump, with Denver sending the overpaid McGee to Philadelphia, as well as the first-rounder, of course, to make the deal fair. As much of a star Mcgee is on "Shaqtin' A Fool", the only thing the Sixers have their eyes set on in this deal is the draft pick. McGee is due for $23.25 million combined over the next two years, which isn’t so bad when you consider that Philadelphia is getting a first-rounder out of this trade. It remains to be seen whether or not the Thunder can climb up from the 15th best record in the league to the 11th this season. This is important because since there are 30 teams, the 11th best record translates to a top 19 pick, which would mean Philadelphia gets Oklahoma City’s draft choice. If not, however, the pick will surely be conveyed next year, as the Thunder are a title contender, not a lottery team that will have a top 14 pick. Either way, the Sixers, as a young rebuilding team with plenty of cap space looking to stockpile draft picks, did exactly what they needed to do at the deadline: take on a bad contract and get another draft pick out of it.
Grade: A+
One Trade That Every Team Should Do
Philadelphia gets: SG C.J Wilcox, SF Hedo Turkoglu, PF Ekpe Udoh
Los Angeles Clippers get: SF/PF Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
Finances: Mbah a Moute is on an expiring contract worth $.4 million, and so are Turkoglu and Udoh. However, these guys are just contract fill-ins, and their deals are worth less than $1 million each. Wilcox is only owed $1.1 million this year, as he is still on his cheap rookie deal. He is the prize of this deal for Philadelphia.
The Fit: As the Sixers continue to strip down their roster of veteran parts in favor of younger players and draft picks, it makes sense for Mbah a Moute to be the next out the door. The Clippers are probably the team that would give the most for the forward, and Wilcox is really the only asset LA has that would be of interest to Philadelphia, as they are devoid of future draft picks. The rookie could come in and instantly compete for minutes with the Sixers, unlike in LA, where he’s only averaging 5.5 minutes per game. GM Sam Hinkie continues to acquire future assets at his veterans’ expense, and this trade is no different.
Why the other team does it: Turkoglu and Udoh were borderline benchwarmers, and so was Wilcox, though he likely won’t be in a few years. Mbah a Moute is averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds per game, to go along with 1.5 steals. He fills a clear hole for a playoff team at small forward, and could be the missing link for the Clippers to win their first ever championship.
State of the Franchise
Projected Cap Space (before luxury tax): $62.3 million
Background: Though it feels like ages ago, the Sixers only began their tank-tastic ways in the 2013 draft, where they dealt promising All-Star PG Jrue Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for two first-round draft picks. Ever since then, GM Sam Hinkie has been tearing down the roster, dealing away all veterans in exchange for future draft picks. The next season, SG/SF Evan Turner and C Spencer Hawes were traded to the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers respectively for second-round picks, in advance of the trade deadline, and SF/PF Thaddeus Young was the final domino of the Holiday-led Sixers, to fall. He was dealt to Minnesota as part of the three-team deal that sent superstar PF Kevin Love to Cleveland, as well as a first-rounder to Philadelphia. Even SG/PG Alexey Shved, a role player acquired in the Young deal, was exchanged with Houston for another second-round draft choice. Now with a ridiculous amount of future draft picks and plenty of prospects to boot, the rebuild is on in the City of Brotherly Love. It is led by reigning rookie of the year PG Michael-Carter Williams, though he is having a disappointing sophomore campaign and has even faced trade rumors recently. PF/C Nerlens Noel, taken as one of the picks acquired from New Orleans, is having a nice “rookie” season, even though he was drafted in 2013: he sat out the entire 2013-2014 campaign with an ACL injury, making him a “rookie” this year as this is the season where he played his first NBA game. C Joel Embiid and SF Dario Saric were selected by the Sixers in this year’s draft with the third and twelfth picks respectively, but neither will likely play a game this year, as Embiid, like fellow big man Noel, is dealing with an injury in his rookie year, and Saric will spend the next couple of years in the Adriatic league. So why is it that the Sixers want so badly to lose, and are succeeding with the third-worst record in the NBA? Why is it that they trade away all of their good players for draft picks? Why is it that seemingly whenever the Sixers draft a player, they don’t even play that year? The answer is tanking, and it is one of the bigger problems in the NBA today. In a nutshell, tanking is purposely losing games in order to get a better draft pick. And in reality, it’s not a bad idea. The strategy behind tanking over multiple years and acquiring draft picks is to be successful in the long run, once your young guys hit their primes. The Oklahoma City Thunder, then the Seattle Supersonics, are pretty much the model for long-term tanking. In the span of a few years, they drafted superstars SF Kevin Durant, PG Russell Westbrook, PF/C Serge Ibaka, and SG James Harden, morphing themselves into a perennial title contender, though Harden is now with the Houston Rockets. The reason teams elect to tank, as opposed to try to contend, is simple: if you were a team and knew you weren’t going to make the playoffs anyways, or would just get a low seed and be eliminated in the first round, what makes more sense: getting the 14th-worst record and having a 0.1% chance at the number draft one pick, or getting the worst record, and sitting on a 25% chance at nabbing the number one pick? For the Sixers, they certainly think the latter.
Current Financial State: As the Sixers refuse to sign any free agents and resolve to simply build through the draft, staying above the salary floor is a much bigger concern for them than staying below the luxury tax line. Building through the draft certainly has its perks, with the main one being the cheap rookie contracts. Philadelphia is paying a league-low $41.5 million this season, and they only currently have $14.5 million committed for next season, with every dollar of that being put towards a rookie deal. The Sixers are probably the only team in the NBA without salary cap issues, and they don’t intend to change that for a while.
Targets: As the Sixers are not actually trying to be competitive for at least another couple of years, they will likely not target anybody in specific this offseason, despite their surplus of available cash. Instead, they can use their available cap space to acquire even more draft picks. They can do this by taking on a bad contract from a team and a draft pick in exchange for next to nothing. These trades, as you can see from all the bad contracts currently in the NBA, are more common than you would think. The Sacramento Kings are hurting from poor decisions in the past, most notably from backup PF’s Carl Landry and Jason Thompson being originally signed for a combined 9 years/$56+ million just 12 months apart from each other, and now the Kings are left overpaying a couple of role players. However, we know how much the Sixers love second-rounders, and the Kings have two of them this season. Sacramento would be more than willing to dump Landry or Thompson’s 3 year/$20 million contract on Philadelphia and add a couple of second-rounders to sweeten the deal. Philadelphia would, in turn, send the expiring contract of SF/PF Luc Richard Mbah A Moute to Sacramento. One player that the Sixers have of actual value is veteran SF Andrei Kirilenko, who is on an expiring contract worth $3.3 million. One team that could really use Kirilenko’s services is the Los Angeles Clippers, who have been in the market for a small forward for years now. The Clippers could even out the salaries by sending the cheap expiring contract of little-used SF Hedo Turkoglu to Philly for “AK-47” (jersey number is 47 and initials are “AK”), but of course the Clippers would also have to cough up a second-rounder. There have been rumors that the Sixers are shopping sophomore PG Michael-Carter Williams, but it would be foolish to give up on the reigning Rookie of the Year so soon. Yes, Carter-Williams is only averaging 38% shooting from the field, a downgrade from the already-disastrous 40.5% last year, but inefficient shooting is a common issue for younger guards. MCW is still averaging 15 points, 7.5 assists, 6 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1 three per game this year, slightly worse numbers than last year, but still very impressive for someone his age. Carter-Williams is oozing potential, but giving up on him so quickly makes little sense, especially with the trade market likely very lean due to his inefficient shooting.
The Fit: PF’s Carl Landry or Jason Thompson would actually take on quite a big role in Philadelphia, in contrast to many of these other players in trades that the team doesn't actually want. They are both veterans who are capable of playing 20 minutes per game, and if you play for the Sixers right now, that likely means you’re a 36 minute per game full-time starter kind of guy. However, Landry/Thompson playing minutes at power forward at someone like Nerlens Noel’s expense would be foolish, as Noel represents the future of the franchise, while neither of these veterans will likely ever play in Philadelphia again once their contracts come off the books. Turkoglu will likely not eat into second-round draft pick rookie SF K.J McDaniels’s minutes, who is looking like the steal of the draft so far (so all those second-rounders do pay off!). The Clemson product is putting together a nice rookie season, averaging 1 three, 1 steal, and 1.3 blocks per game to go along with 9 points. There is light at the end of the tunnel through all this tanking in Philadelphia, but you’d need 20/20 vision to see it right now.
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