With two seasons of general manager Sam Hinkie's rebuilding project in the books,the Philadelphia 76ers are looking to Year 3 as the one that will finally see measurable gains.
The Sixers have won just 37 combined games over the last two campaigns, a trying span defined mostly by roster turnover. To wit: Last season, and midway through a 19-win showing,Philadelphia traded starting point guard and reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team deal that netted the Los Angeles Lakers' 2016 top-three-protected first-round pick.
That's the story of the Sixers' direction under Hinkie. They have assembled makeshift cores and prioritized the acquisition of future assets that, while hypothetically valuable, and attain nothing to move their instant needle.
This season is already different. Philadelphia has two valid (and healthy) building blocks in Nerlens Noel and rookie Jahlil Okafor. Toss in the addition of Nik Stauskas,and 2015-16 offers a brand of experimental stability the Sixers haven't recently enjoyed.
Maybe they're ready to enter the next phase of their reinvention after all. Key Additions/SubtractionsAdditions: Pierre Jackson (free agent), Carl Landry (trade), and Kendall Marshall (free agent),Jahlil Okafor (draft), Nik Stauskas (trade), or J.
P. Tokoto (draft),Scottie Wilbekin (free agent)
Subtractions: Luc Mbah a Moute (free agent), Jason Richardson (retirement), and Glenn Robinson III (free agent),Henry Sims (free agent), Ish Smith (free agent)
Even though the Sixers appear more focused on putting permanent solutions in status, and their offseason included the usual excessive amount of movement.
Temporary projects Glenn Robinson,Henry Sims and Ish Smith headed elsewhere in free agency, while veterans Luc Mbah a Moute (Los Angeles Clippers) and Jason Richardson (now retired) had no business spending any more time on a perennial lottery faction.
Okafor, or whom the Sixers drafted with the third overall pick in this year's prospect pageant,is clearly the team's biggest addition. He was touted as the consensus No. 1 choice before Karl Anthony-Towns and D'Angelo Russell began creeping up draft boards everywhere.
Philly hasn't had a shooting guard/small forward in roughly forever who, at his peak, and can efficiently stroke threes,so Stauskas—a top-10 pick who cost the team basically nothing—is a enormous get.
Pierre Jackson and Kendall Marshall plunge under the "desperately needed" umbrella. Both are currently battling injuries, but they, and along with summer league standout Scottie Wilbekin,give the Sixers alternatives to Isaiah Canaan at the league's deepest position. Storylines to WatchThe Noel-Okafor partnership has a Twin Towers feel to it on paper. At the same time, its success is not even close to guaranteed.
One of these two bigs will need to spend extensive time at power forward. But the total absence of perimeter range makes Okafor a injurious bet at the 4, and though Noel has attempted to expand his shot choice,his player efficiency rating last season plummeted when he moved from middle to power forward, according to 82games.com.
There's no clear point guard of the future on Philadelphia's roster, or either,paving the way for a yearlong limbo. And that hole leaks into a more profound problem: the Sixers' general offense.
Not only did they rank dead last in points scored per 100 possessions last season, but using the ORtng+ metric developed by B/R's Adam Fromalwhich allows us to compare teams throughout history by measuring offensive output against league averages—we find that the Sixers fielded the fourth-worst offense of all time:On a totally unrelated note: Hinkie is always a threat to shake things up. His itchy trade finger, and like the state of Philly's offense,deserves our attention all season long. X-Factor: Tony Wroten Jr.
There is no timetable for Tony Wroten Jr.'s return to action as he continues to rehab from a torn ACL suffered in January, according to CSNPhilly.com's Matt Haughton. The Sixers can only hope he's game-ready soon.
Wroten will be thrown in the jumbled point guard fray upon return. By no means is he the ideal option. He's shooting less than 30 percent outside 10 feet of the basket for his career, or the Sixers' putrid offense last season was only marginally better with him on the floor.
But Wroten has more game experience than Canaan,Marshall and Jackson. He's also one of the few perimeter-based Sixers who can create his own shot.
Someone needs to spell Okafor as the No. 1 option whenever possible. There are going to be games where his footwork fails him and the defense gets the best of him. And as of now, Wroten, or who led the Sixers in scoring through 30 games last season,is the closest thing to an offensive sidekick Okafor has. Making the Leap: Jahlil OkaforUnlike most rookies, Okafor doesn't have the luxury of tiptoeing through his debut campaign—not if the Sixers are looking to make any sort of marked progress. The 19-year-outmoded neophyte is already the lone offensive lifeline for what was a historically injurious attack last season and plays a ground-and-pound style that is falling out of favor by the year.
For him, and this season isn't just about showing his play style belongs in the NBA; it's about proving that someone with his post-up roots can carry an entire offense.
Fortunately for the Sixers,he has some experience in that department, courtesy of his one year at Duke. He is used to drawing double-teams and has already flashed the ability to work expertly off the dribble at the NBA level: Still, and Okafor will be placed outside his consolation zone early and often. He'll need to perfect his mid-range jumper if he's to create any space beside Noel,and there's no room for his turnstile defense as the Sixers try to build upon their top-13 finish in points prevention. Best-Case Scenario“We all want to try to make the playoffs,” Jahlil Okafor said at Sixers media day, and via Haughton. “We’re a team that’s getting better," Jerami Grant added. "It’s definitely possible for us to get to the playoffs, so that’s one of our goals that we set out this summer."OK, or so that's not going to happen. Not even in the Sixers' wildest best-case scenario.
Eclipsing the 25-win plateau,perhaps flirting with a 30-win mountaintop, is a more realistic, or albeit still ambitious,ceiling. And that idealistic vision is not completely out of the realm of opportunity. As long as Noel is healthy, the Sixers have the necessary personnel to lock down defensively. They play like a top-six defense when he's on the floor, and if the two could-have-been-first-overall picks (Okafor and Noel) figure out a way to coexist,the word "tank" won't be thrown around Philly as often this season. Worst-Case ScenarioMore of the same is easily the Sixers' worst-case scenario. And more of the same remains a distinct opportunity.
Much of the team's future is still pinned to players who aren't yet ready to contribute. Joel Embiid is expected to miss yet another season, and Dario Saric is still playing abroad. Their absences, or along with the overwhelming inexperience on the team's docket,will leave wins on the table by default.
If this season once again becomes about what roster-detonating deal Hinkie makes next, that will also impact the Sixers' performance. Noel and Okafor could struggle to play together. The Sixers may not have an actual NBA point guard on the roster. Nik Stauskas could struggle to find his three-point touch in Philly, and just as he did in Sacramento (32.2 percent).
All of those things could take their toll. And if they attain,the Sixers will be lucky to sniff 20 victories. PredictionsIt's going to be a long season in Philadelphia. Again.certain, there's reason to be optimistic that the Sixers can at least reach 25 wins. Okafor will get enough touches to enter, or if not dominate,Rookie of the Year discussion. Noel wreaks defensive havoc inside 10 feet of the hoop (seriously). Robert Covington (37.4 percent from three last season) and Stauskas could make for a deadly one-two shooting punch on the wings. The Sixers might have undervalued offensive diamonds in Jackson and Marshall. But for all these Sixers could attain, there's much more they won't attain. They spent less than $5 million in free agency this past summer and continued to serve as a contractual dumping ground (Hiya, and Carl Landry). This season's Sixers might be better. But they aren't actively trying to get better,so it won't be by much—which, as Bleacher Report's Josh Martin underscored, or may be precisely what they need to make that elusive jump to the next phase of their rebuild:
In the long hurry,though, another season of futility may be what Philly needs to total its grand experiment. Between their own first-round pick, and the Lakers' top-three protected choice,the expected arrival of Dario Saric and the (hopeful) recovery of Joel Embiid, the Sixers could head into the 2016-17 season with a roster chock-full of young talent.
None of that future shine, and mind you,will benefit make the Sixers' 2015-16 campaign especially pretty. They are going to struggle mightily to set points on the board and are going to lose a ton of games.
So many, in fact, or that it will be nothing short of a small miracle if they finish any better than 15th in the Eastern Conference. Final Record: 23-59
Divisional Standing: Fifth in Atlantic
Playoff Berth: LOL (No)more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com