June 23rd will be a busy day for the
Philadelphia 76ers and new GM Bryan Colangelo. The team will have three – or
four, depending on how the ping pong balls bounce – first round picks in the
hyped 2016 NBA Draft, as well as an arsenal of cap space and attractive young
assets with which to leverage in the name of imminent improvement. What transpires
on draft night will go a long way toward shaping the immediate future of the
franchise.
During Sam Hinkie's tumultuous tenure
with the team, the Sixers stacked picks and young players laden with potential
in order to develop a wide talent base with which to build. Without pressure to
contend immediately, asset acquisition was the main objective, and Hinkie
proved deft at the task. Now with a new regime in tow with a mandated emphasis
on improvement, it seems as though the Sixers may be ready to act on some of those
acquired assets by flipping them for tangible talent that could contribute to a
rapid about-face.
“We’ll certainly be open for business
and listening to whatever is there,” Colangelo stated
at the NBA Draft combine.
Coming off of a 10-win season with a
whole lot of lingering roster ambiguity, the idea that the Sixers are open to
move-making this summer, and on draft day specifically, is the opposite of
shocking. If the Sixers weren’t keeping both ears open for all potential offers
they wouldn’t be doing their due diligence. One of the main objectives of Hinkie’s
asset acquisitions was that the team could use the assets to acquire a star(s)
if – and when – the opportunity arises. If the right opportunity were to
arise, Colangelo would be amiss not to listen and potentially pursue.
This is something he seems well aware
of.
"You
don't want to leave anything on the table,” he stated.
“If there was an opportunity to do something and you didn't know that or
realize it because you didn't make a phone call then that's your fault. But I
think we'll explore everything in every regard and that's the good news about
having the kind of flexibility and the number of assets that we have.”
It is reassuring to hear that the new
general manager understands and appreciates the bounty left to him, and that he
plans to leave no stone unturned in search of overall improvement. However, there
is some concern that he will be over-eager. Sometimes no move is the best move,
and it is important that Colangelo does not make moves rashly in an attempt to
make a splash or engineer an overly-quick turnaround. Draft picks and cap space
are a luxury in the league that can almost always be utilized down the road if
the present prospects aren’t impressive. Making a move just for the sake of
making a move, or simply to jettison young guys in favor of veterans for
experience's sake could be a quick ticket to mediocrity, which is exactly what
Sam Hinkie aimed to avoid.
The Sixers roster will likely look
vastly different at next season’s start than it does in mid-May. It seems
largely likely that some of the organization’s ample cap space will be used on
free agent acquisitions; probably to a greater degree than it was during Hinkie’s
time with the team. It is also likely that one of either Nerlens Noel or Jahlil
Okafor will be moved this summer, while each’s value, and ceiling, remains
relatively high.
Everything seems to be on the table
for the Sixers this summer, and draft day may serve as a jumping off point for
the Colangelo-led climb back to contention. With a plethora of picks and a
myriad of [potential] moves, it will be an extremely busy – and important – day
for the Sixers.
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