2014-15 NBA season (or, will the Sixers go 0-82?)

[Voodoohead]

what do you think?

 

[DragonmasterDan]

what do you think?

Just due to the Okafor pickup I suspect the Sixers will easily win 9 games :-D

 

[Kristian Meller]

what do you think?

Contrived.

Did people conveniently forget that the Cavs were without two all stars? It seems that a lot of people has. It's not an excuse, it's just a fact.

 

[jro]

Maybe 2016-17. We'll see.

The Sixers are doomed for at least the next few years. There's tanking for draft picks, but what they've done seems far less calculated.

It's extremely calculated. Look at the team's payroll- it consistently comes in under the salary floor on purpose, because the penalty for not hitting the salary floor is laughable. The draft picks are usually years away from being able to play. Hinkie knows exactly what he's doing, but that doesn't make it any less repulsive (though the Astros' current success in MLB may stand as an argument for his strategy).

They should have traded Lawson at the All Star break last year.

He'll probably do well in Houston though, just because that's the worst possible outcome for the Nuggets.

At least they didn't toss Faried in too. I was worried they'd ship him away.

No one will take Faried on his current contract. He's widely known as a player who's hated in his own locker room and front office, and he has roughly zero defensive ability to go with the fact that he doesn't rebound or protect the rim.

His run at the Worlds a year or so ago doesn't translate to NBA success. He's a net negative.

 

[dspoonrt]

It's extremely calculated. Look at the team's payroll- it consistently comes in under the salary floor on purpose, because the penalty for not hitting the salary floor is laughable. The draft picks are usually years away from being able to play. Hinkie knows exactly what he's doing, but that doesn't make it any less repulsive (though the Astros' current success in MLB may stand as an argument for his strategy).

Maybe calculated was the wrong word. I just don't think the years of tanking (drafting questionably, trading away any decent prospects, and shooting for 5 to 10 win seasons) will add up to anything in the end, save for maybe the franchise leaving Philadelphia and starting over somewhere else with more competent management.

 

[DragonmasterDan]

Maybe calculated was the wrong word. I just don't think the years of tanking (drafting questionably, trading away any decent prospects, and shooting for 5 to 10 win seasons) will add up to anything in the end, save for maybe the franchise leaving Philadelphia and starting over somewhere else with more competent management.

It's obvious they're trying to draft and develop "bigs" who they can trade for other assets down the line while tanking every year until they have a franchise player fall into their lap through the lottery. If Embiid, Okafor, and Noel all are healthy and pan out to be decent players they can very easily flip whichever one they don't want to keep for a quality young player of just about any other position as centers and inside dominant power forwards are just much harder to find than other positions.

 

[dspoonrt]

It's obvious they're trying to draft and develop "bigs" who they can trade for other assets down the line while tanking every year until they have a franchise player fall into their lap through the lottery. If Embiid, Okafor, and Noel all are healthy and pan out to be decent players they can very easily flip whichever one they don't want to keep for a quality young player of just about any other position as centers and inside dominant power forwards are just much harder to find than other positions.

If Embiid ever gets healthy enough to play in the NBA, we'll see how that pans out.

Also, it's going to be hard to attract good young talent with their losing culture and track record of trading away any player worth a damn.

 

[DragonmasterDan]

If Embiid ever gets healthy enough to play in the NBA, we'll see how that pans out.

Also, it's going to be hard to attract good young talent with their losing culture and track record of trading away any player worth a damn.

Again, they're not trying to acquire young talent through free agency. They're hoping for franchise player lottery pick to come their way.

They're clearing cap space to be the team that will take on bad contracts for teams who are willing to give away draft picks to avoid the luxury tax.

 

[dspoonrt]

Again, they're not trying to acquire young talent through free agency. They're hoping for franchise player lottery pick to come their way.

They're clearing cap space to be the team that will take on bad contracts for teams who are willing to give away draft picks to avoid the luxury tax.

I mean even once they land this franchise player in the draft lottery (if it even happens in the next few years), it'll be hard to attract more talent due to their track record. I know I'm being very hard on them, but they've dug their own hole.

 

[DragonmasterDan]

I mean even once they land this franchise player in the draft lottery (if it even happens in the next few years), it'll be hard to attract more talent due to their track record. I know I'm being very hard on them, but they've dug their own hole.

They've definitely dug a big hole for themselves but things can turnaround quickly. When you stockpile high draft picks like they're doing all it takes is getting the right pick in the right draft year to get a franchise player and suddenly you have a whole lot of assets to trade to build a solid team in a hurry.

 

[Kristian Meller]

No one will take Faried on his current contract. He's widely known as a player who's hated in his own locker room and front office, and he has roughly zero defensive ability to go with the fact that he doesn't rebound or protect the rim.

Doesn't rebound? What the fuck does he do, then?

 

[famicommander]

Faried rebounds. He's the only Nugget who consistently does.

And I think Lawson being gone will be great for Faried. They were always together. A buddy of mine used to work at a bar they frequented and he said Lawson was a prick but Faried was nice, if a little aloof.

 

[Kristian Meller]

It's The Carolina Way.