Ranking the Philadelphia 76ers' Biggest Priorities for the 2015 NBA Offseason
If the Philadelphia 76ers want to begin their winning ways, then they'll need to be very careful about ranking the organization's biggest priorities for the 2015 NBA offseason.
General manager Sam Hinkie isn't known for being quiet throughout the summer months. It's actually quite the opposite.
His first major move as general manager was to trade Jrue Holiday during the 2013 draft for Nerlens Noel and a future first-round pick. Hinkie then made his vision clearer than ever by trading Thaddeus Young to the Minnesota Timberwolves the following offseason.
He has the power and isn't afraid to use it.
If Philadelphia wants to have a legitimate shot at contending for the playoffs during the 2015-16 season, then both Hinkie and the rest of the organization will need to commit to a series of steps designed to take the Sixers to the next level.
Here's an idea of what that plan may look like.
5. Development
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Players have cycled through the Sixers roster like a revolving door over the past two seasons, and this process has played a major factor in three noticeable areas: athleticism, youth and raw talent.
All three work hand in hand with the others.
Philadelphia finished the year with the league's second-youngest roster at 23.9 years old. It also had an average size of 6'7" and 215 pounds—typical measurements for lean and athletic bodies. The only problem with being young and athletic is that there is an increased likelihood for underdeveloped talent.
The skills are clearly there, but they need to be refined at the professional level in order to make any of them work.
The Sixers have done a fantastic job of setting themselves up for the future with their current roster.
The next step will be to develop it.
Pay close attention to the NBA Summer League, as we'll get the best chance to see this development in action. Having an opportunity to finally watch Joel Embiid step onto the floor and compete in a regulated game will also be worth the price of admission.
There is no such thing as improvement if Philly fails to get better from an individual standpoint.
4. Stability
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How crazy would it be if the Sixers went through the entire offseason without making a headline due to a random or surprising trade?
Unfortunately, it's going to need to become a reality.
Now, this is only unfortunate because of who we are talking about and the chances of it actually happening. Hinkie isn't just known for swinging for the fences in nearly every successfully completed deal.
He's known for simply throwing his bat at the ball as many times as possible in hopes of one of them working out.
Something crazy must take place to prevent this from happening, though.
Philadelphia's foundation is set. Noel and Embiid are the anchors at power forward and center. Dario Saric's impending arrival has most fans—including head coach Brett Brown, according to Sixers.com's Max Rappaport—excited about what he'll be able to do as an NBA small forward. A mix of Robert Covington, Tony Wroten and Jerami Grant finally round out a bench capable of doing damage on an opposing frontcourt.
The building blocks are in place. It's up to Hinkie to not pull one of them and have the entire thing fall down.
The Sixers have up to five first-round draft picks in the next two years. The focus needs to be on rounding out the roster during this process instead of making a move in hopes of getting a random asset and hoping it fits.
One requires giving up who is already there. The other does not.
Let's be smart about this one, Mr. Hinkie.
3. Maintain Plenty of Cap Space
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According to Spotrac, Philadelphia has the third-most cap space of any NBA team heading into the 2015 offseason.
It gets even better, though, as it is projected to have $13 million more than any other organization when the 2016 offseason—and salary-cap boom thanks to television revenue—arrives.
The franchise needs to make sure it stays that way.
Signing somebody such as Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler or Kawhi Leonard as a restricted free-agent this summer wouldn't be too awful, as each is turning into a superstar in some way. The only problem with making plays on guys such as these comes in how realistic the scenario truly is. Each player is crucial to his current team's success, and the chance of someone letting one of them walk is going to be very rare.
There's no need to force it.
Let's also not forget about how good this team could end up becoming one day. If people such as Embiid, Noel, Saric and this year's first-round pick end up turning into a squad capable of winning an NBA championship, then the Sixers will need to have enough money to keep everybody around. Developing into one of the league's best teams won't mean anything if Philly doesn't maintain the roster that got it there.
The urge to spend can be a hard one to resist.
Fighting it will keep the Sixers relevant for longer and make the operation run like a well-oiled machine while doing so.
2. A Successful Draft
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The Sixers know the NBA draft all too well. There's a chance that they will be selecting in the top three for the second straight year, and they can't afford to waste such an opportunity.
Philadelphia's major step will be to decide if it will draft based on biggest need or biggest talent.
There is a major difference between the two.
If Philly focuses on need, then expect Emmanuel Mudiay or D'Angelo Russell to be one of the two guys picked, as the Sixers' weakest positions lie at point and shooting guard.
Mudiay runs the point and brings an incredibly physical game to the position. At 6'6", 205 pounds, he's easily the strongest and most explosive guard in this year's draft class while resembling players such as Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook. The issue is that his natural ability at getting to and finishing at the rim can be offset by average ball-handling skills and an inconsistent jump shot. He'll need to immediately improve his fundamentals if he wants to ever become truly elite.
Mudiay's NBA comparisons are fun, but it's possible that Russell has a better chance of being a sure thing.
He's similar in height (6'5", 180 lbs) with a frame that holds around 25 fewer pounds, but he is possibly the most skilled player in the draft outside of Duke's Jahlil Okafor. Russell combines an ability to shoot from anywhere with incredible ball-handling skills and ridiculous court vision. Being able to take over a game at any point is also a rare trait to possess.
He also looks like the guy Philadelphia has its eye on.
The Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey reported that a league executive is saying the Sixers are already targeting Russell. The executive seems to be sure that he is the guy they want: "He's the guy they want. That's the word around the league. You know the Sixers. They won't come out and say it, but he's the guy they want. Russell has star quality."
If the Sixers were to select a center such as Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns, then it would be clear they are picking that player because they believe he is more talented than anybody else on their draft board. Both Embiid and Noel cancel any reason to think it would be because of need.
They must select the right man moving forward, especially since he has the chance to be a cornerstone for years to come.
1. Stay Healthy
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The Sixers have a number of promising players, but none of them will be able to hit their maximum potential if they are unable to stay healthy.
Imagine how different Noel's future would be if he ended up reinjuring his repaired left ACL and never averaged 30.8 minutes in 75 of the team's 82 games. We'd be mulling whether he would ever be able to return to his old form, instead of how promising his rookie-year 1.9 blocks and 1.8 steals per game were.
The next couple of years would be looking much different if this had been the case.
Noel isn't out of the woods yet, but he is clearly past any lingering effects related to his knee. We're about to see if Embiid can do as well at staying on the court after surgically repairing a stress fracture to his navicular bone in his right foot.
The recovery time has been identical in terms of sitting out an entire season, so maybe the results will be similar as well.
Health is obviously crucial for every team in the NBA. Philadelphia just happens to be in a unique situation, since some of its key building blocks are young and have a history of injuries.
Any kind of major setback related to health during the 2015 offseason would be incredibly detrimental toward the Sixers and their future.
They must stay healthy.
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