Ranking the Sixers roster according to team's Defense-Pace-Space criteria

Remember Chip Kelly? Of course you do! Kelly’s demise with the Eagles was largely due to the demand for total personnel control and his subsequent failure to “wear both hats.”

Kelly was the captain now for only one NFL Draft, but during that time, the Eagles revealed a three-part philosophy for drafting:

•    Height-Weight-Speed
•    Position Specifics
•    #Culture

Sixers head coach Brett Brown often brings up the idea of “keepers” (players who can stick around long-term). He believes that his team has more keepers now than at any point of The Process.

“I’m assuming by now, most of the room would say, ‘You are defense, pace, and space,’” Brown said. “We’re going to guard in the city of Philadelphia, we’re going to run, and we’re going to embrace the three-point line. And so if that remains to be true and it will, it should lead us in a draft, it should lead us in a free-agent decision, and it certainly leads us with [roster decisions].

“You don’t have to tick all three [boxes], you better go two for three or have the ability to move into that area in a very clear way,” he later added.

Brown mentioned seven keepers. So, there we have a three-part philosophy for the Sixers:

•    Defense: Can you guard?
•    Pace: Can you play fast?
•    Space: Can you make threes?

Back in 2015, Jimmy graded draft prospects by how they checked boxes. I’ll do the same here with the younger players (the seven keepers plus two more guys) on the Sixers roster. Let’s use a simple 1-5 scale for each category:

1.    Poor
2.    Below Average
3.    Average
4.    Above Average
5.    Elite

Joel Embiid: 14

I instantly broke the rules gave Embiid a 6 for defense, because he’s a potential DPOY. A 7’2” dude shooting 37 percent from deep already qualifies as “above average” and I think he’s going to get better.

Verdict: 3 for 3, with two elite strengths

Robert Covington: 12

The funny thing about Covington is that his major strength coming into the NBA is his weakest category now (shooting). Otherwise, his defense is elite and he runs the wings well in transition.

Verdict: 3 for 3, if he could figure out the early-season slumps

Richaun Holmes: 11

Surprise! Holmes’ three-point shot is ugly to watch, but he knocks it down and thus can hurt defenses at every level. While his defensive instincts aren’t always the best, Richaun does give great effort on that end.

Verdict: 3 for 3

Ben Simmons: 10

Simmons is a building block, but he’s also a trickier fit because his shooting is such a question mark. The ability for him grab a rebound and push the ball in transition makes the pace score a 5. Defense is trickier, but based on his potential and Brown/Embiid’s rave reviews from camp, we’ll give him a 4.

Verdict: 2 for 3, with an elite strength and major weakness

Dario Saric: 10

Saric gets to 10 differently than Simmons. His three-point shooting is flat but international players can have trouble adjusting to the longer line. Let’s go 3 there, because he’ll work hard to become average. Saric’s vision in the open court produced some of the Sixers’ best highlight this year and is worthy of a 4.

Verdict: 3 for 3, but no elite strengths

T.J. McConnell: 10

T.J. is a smaller version of Simmons. Elite at pushing the tempo and above average at defending the other team’s point guard, McConnell’s inability to make teams pay for going under screens definitely hurts.

Verdict: 2 for 3, with an elite strength and one major weakness

Justin Anderson: 9

I’m not sure how to value Anderson, but the guy does defend and get out in transition. Now, about that shooting…

Verdict: 2 for 3, with one major weakness

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot: 8

It feels unfair to rank TLC because so much of his game is based on potential. I gave him a generous 3 for shooting and 2 for defense, but it’s totally reasonable to think he could be around the Covington level in a few years.

Verdict: 1 for 3, with potential to be 3 for 3

Nik Stauskas: 8

Sauce improved his three-point percentage, but you would like him to be a 40 percent-plus three-point shooter.

Verdict: 1 for 3, with the track record to make the one strength elite

Jahlil Okafor

You know what, let's not pile on Jah. It's safe to say he doesn't grade out well in any of these categories. Whether or not it was intentional, it was telling that Brown didn't mention him during his whole "keepers" spiel.

So, there you have it. Not the be-all, end-all, but a fun exercise nonetheless.

Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann

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