November 11, 2015
Enough is enough. This is getting ridiculous. Somebody needs to immediately put a stop to The Cauldron and their desperate attempt to drive traffic by manufacturing a strong anti-Sixers bias.
I’m kidding (Sixers takes do draw clicks, though). I like The Cauldron and think they employ some really smart writers. One of those writers is Seth Partnow, who just penned a critique of The Process. The tl;dr version of Partnow’s piece is that while the full-scale rebuild is a sound idea, he believes the Sixers have made small mistakes along the way that added up over time.
One of those mistakes, in Partnow’s estimation, is the level of talent surrounding potential core pieces like Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel. He doesn’t think it has been good enough:
This is not to say Okafor and Nerlens Noel are doomed, but every bit of defensive nuance Okafor fails to grasp and every quality pick-and-roll rep Noel is cost by not having an competent ball-handling partner costs them a little bit in terms of how good they eventually become. That extra something could easily be what eventually limits Noel to an All-Defensive Team candidate rather than an All-NBA player. You can win with the former, but add in the latter and the task becomes that much easier.
The question of whether currently surrounding Okafor and Noel with more talent would make them better players in the long run seems like a hard one to answer either way. Partnow and Sam Hinkie do seem to have a fundamental difference of opinion there, though.
The last two years (and we’re likely heading for a third), the Sixers played the lottery hard. Like, the 30 for 30 if this whole thing doesn’t work out could be titled “The Pennsylvania Lottery.” To maximize their chances of landing a star in the draft, the Sixers have elected to force players like Noel and Okafor learn close to the hardest way possible (although T.J. McConnell has proven to be a very good passer). Whether that actually helps or hinders their development, I’m not sure.
Anyway, the article raises some good points — What was the harm in keeping K.J. McDaniels? What good is cap space in a few years if everyone has it? — and it’s worth a read. Only time will tell if Partnow's concerns are warranted or Hinkie knew exactly what he was doing all along.
And if not, I better get a call to be interviewed for that 30 for 30.
30 Teams in 60 Minutes Week 2: Dunc’d On Podcast
I have linked to this podcast before, but I quite like the takes of both Nate Duncan and Danny Leroux. In this podcast (which covers the whole NBA), they offer some positive words for Jahlil Okafor.
With Okafor, Noel, Sixers go against grain to rebuild: Ian Thomsen, NBA.com
Psh, I’ve seen this article before. There are some good quotes in here from Brett Brown and the two young bigs. As Brown says about Okafor, his future is his body:
While Noel can defend anywhere on the floor, Okafor must body up against opposing bigs. This is why Brown is working with him to improve his body and make Okafor ever more relevant in this athletic era. After another recent morning shootaround, Okafor could be seen huddling with three 76ers aides, including David T. Martin, the Australian who was hired last summer as the 76ers Director of Performance Research and Development. They were reviewing laptop video of Okafor from practices and games in order to help him envision his future.
Sixers CEO defends a rebuild whose payoff is far in the future: Mike Sielski, Philadelphia Inquirer
First IHaveNoSources.com, now this quote below. Scott O’Neil has been saying some stuff recently!
"I'm not into bull-. We kind of go with what we think is reasonable, and that time we thought [Embiid] was going to play this year. And it didn't work out. It [stinks]. But we're not, like, two-bit promoters. There's no John Ringling. That's not this organization."
Funny enough, I noticed during the game on Monday night that a couple of Bulls writers were not impressed with the Sixers (which in turn puts Philly fans all up in your mentions).
At what point does the league step in with the 76ers? This is an embarrassment.
— Vincent Goodwill (@vgoodwill) November 10, 2015
Bulls win 111-88. Don't take much from this game because the Sixers are awful.
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) November 10, 2015
Relief for 76ers mgt. as Bulls go up 20; earlier when 76ers took 2nd qtr lead word was 76ers trying to trade players daring to try to win
— Sam Smith (@SamSmithHoops) November 10, 2015
1. How did Nerlens actually hurt his wrists? One word (OK, it's not a word): Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
2. First-round pick tracker: The Lakers and Kings are terrible!
3. Shaqtin': The four best bloopers of the young season.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
