September 11, 2024
Kyle Ross/Imagn Images
Can free agency acquisition Caleb Martin be the Sixers' true solution at the power forward position?
From @sleepyvinny: What's your missing piece for the current Sixers roster that you think they go after as a deadline acquisition to push them to the top of the Eastern Conference?
Right now, the most glaring hole in this roster is at power forward. Newcomer Caleb Martin is expected to start at the position when the season begins, and he does boast the requisite physicality, strength and toughness to last there. Behind him, there is an anticipated training camp battle for minutes between two natural power forwards in KJ Martin and Guerschon Yabusele and a more traditional wing in Ricky Council IV.
So, the natural answer here is probably to add a power forward, but it is important that the team does not trade for someone purely because they are nominally a four despite said player not significantly improving the team's chances of winning games. If KJ Martin, Yabusele and Council all fail to be viable rotation pieces, it would make sense for the team elects to grab an innings-eater type of power forward.
To me, though, it is probably only worth trading anything of significance for someone with the size of a typical power forward if they are a true starting-caliber player. That does not stem from a lack of trust in Caleb Martin; it actually originates from excitement about his positional versatility.
The fact that Caleb Martin is viewed as a tenable starting power forward option at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds is remarkable, a testament to his fearless nature on the court. But after watching hours of his film earlier this summer, I came away incredibly impressed by his ability to defend guards. With all due respect to Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr., their new starting teammate might be the team's best option to defend opposing ball-handlers thanks to a unique mix of tenacity and body control.
Caleb Martin finds the right balance of playing physical defense without fouling to get a stop against DeMar DeRozan. pic.twitter.com/KMdWY1uV9G
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) August 1, 2024
While the team's current plan to start Oubre and George on the wing with Caleb Martin absorbing power forward minutes is surely a viable strategy, if the Sixers added a starting-caliber player at the four, things could get easier for head coach Nick Nurse. Nurse could use Caleb Martin primarily as a wing who is available for high-profile defensive assignments on the perimeter, while also having him available to log backup power forward minutes. Then the opportunity arises to bring Oubre off the bench in a super-sub role, before closing games with whichever five players made the most sense based on the given matchup.
From @buff985: What's the window for this team?
The window is however long Joel Embiid can remain one of the single best players in the NBA. For a long time, most people assumed that his prime would be a short one — he is a seven-footer with a lengthy injury history, after all — but the consensus on that feels as if it has shifted a bit.
There is no question that Embiid will always be more susceptible to suffering the devastating "straw that broke the camel's back" sort of injury, but as long as he can avoid that, he has developed a game that has a decent chance of aging a whole lot better than people anticipated.
Since Embiid shifted from operating mostly as a back-to-basket center to someone who faces up and dominates at the nail, he has become much more versatile in his methods of attack. Embiid's brilliant basketball intellect is not going away; if he can maintain the massive strength advantage he has in most matchups he will be able to draw fouls at will for a long time (and remains one of the better big-man free throw shooters in recent league history). His rapid progression as a passer and playmaker in recent years adds another dimension to his offensive game.
But make no mistake: the sooner the better for the Sixers, who will not just be operating in silent fear of a cataclysmic Embiid injury for the remainder of his career, but are paying a 34-year-old George nearly $53 million per year for the next four years. George has his own reputation as an injury-prone player, though a strong 2023-24 campaign is a positive indicator.
So, it is hard to estimate the exact length of the Sixers' window. But with every passing year, they will be considerably closer to reaching a moment where that window is suddenly closed shut. The time is now for the Sixers.
From @camrookorage: If you knew for certain Joel was never going to win a ring, what NBA star who never won a chip do you most hope his career resembles?
This is an extremely difficult question to answer, because the fact of the matter is that if Embiid never wins a championship, it will be one of the defining characteristics of his NBA career. Fair or not, that is how players of his caliber are judged in today's day and age, and it is clear that Embiid is no exception — particularly because most of the basketball world is acutely aware of how much talent and ability exists there.
Reggie Miller never won a championship, but you hardly ever see someone question whether or not he had the ability to perform well in critical games and moments. Unfortunately for Embiid, that is the most common criticism of him at this juncture. And as we saw last season, a string of incredible individual performances — even in the playoffs — will not override a lack of team success.
There are plenty of exercises that reiterate just how crucial it is for Embiid from a legacy perspective that he eventually brings the Sixers to the mountaintop of the basketball world, and even attempting to answer this question is near the top of the list.
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