Everyone breathe easy... exhale... take that sigh of relief and relax. This nightmare-ish season, which was once so promising and exciting, is finally over. The Sixers, who owned a 10-5 record in the month of January(matching the 2015-16 entire season's win total in that month alone) somehow managed to finagle a whole lot of ping pong balls by the time this season ended. Enough to give them the 4th best odds at the #1 overall pick. Ideally, and if things go according to plan, this should be the final year of the tank. If it isn't, then it's likely Embiid got hurt again, Ben Simmons sucked, or a combination of the two. And in that scenario, the Sixers are pretty much screwed anyway.
This is a unique situation. Dare I even call it possibly a blessing in disguise? The Sixers are nowhere close to the worst team in the NBA this season. Without Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Jerryd Bayless, they managed to still be competitive this season for the most part. Even against quality competiton. It wasn't until the final two weeks of the season, after losing Robert Covington to a knee injury, that the team finally buckled under their own weight. In terms of the caliber of their rosters, the Sixers are less deserving of the #1 overall pick than a lot of other teams. But here they stand, sitting comfortably with the 4th best odds, and their chances are even greater with the addition of Sacramento's pick swap. This is a situation the Sixers need to take full advantage of, because they may not find themselves in the top 10 of the NBA draft for quite some time(at least with their own draft picks anyway).
I view this upcoming draft as a "one player draft" meaning I see one potential franchise-changer. His name is Markelle Fultz, and he would be a perfect fit for the Sixers. He is a scoring guard, who doesn't need to be a distributor on offense. He can work off of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. He has the shooting ability to spread the floor, and the athleticism to attack the rim when he needs to. Fultz is the prize of this draft class. With what we all hope is a final tank "send-off season" the Sixers need to find a way to sail away with the prize of this draft class. There is always a price that is too rich, but if the Sixers come away on lottery night with, say, picks 3 and 4, or picks 4 and 5, they should do whatever they can to move up to 1 and grab Fultz. Drafting Jonathan Isaac and Malik Monk would be nice... but neither scream "superstar" to me. This may be the Sixers' last chance to draft a superstar with the assets they have, and they should make it happen should the opportunity present itself.
If the Sixers find themselves unable to land Fultz, I believe they should revisit trading for Paul George. Recently, ESPN's Zach Lowe, and Liberty Ballers reported that the Sixers expressed interest in trading for Paul George at the trade deadline, and Liberty Ballers even reported that they made a formal offer to Indiana. The problem is that Paul George isn't under contract for much longer. He can be a free agent at the end of next season. Trading away significant assets for a one year rental is bad business. However, if the Bryan Colangelo, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Dario Saric can convince George that Philly is the new "place to be" and he agrees to a contract extension, then the Sixers should cash in some of those numerous assets that have accumulated over the last 3 years. Get your superstar wing to pair with your two young budding potential superstars.
The East is very vulnerable. The Cavs suddenly look beatable. LeBron James isn't getting any younger, and with George, the Sixers would have an opportunity to climb the Easter Conference very quickly, and he's still young enough that you would have a long window to compete for a championship. The Sixers have options and that's a great thing. George Costanza once said
"Oh. It's just horse manure. Horse manure's not that bad. I don't even
mind the word 'manure.' You know, it's, it's 'newer,' which is good. And
a 'ma' in front of it. MA-NURE. When you consider the other choices,
'manure' is actually pretty refreshing."
When you have a negative situation, you behoove yourself to try to get something positive out of it. In a Sixers season that ended with misery, it might have just opened the door a crack for them to get one more superstar... either via the draft or trade. And they should grab onto that opportunity and hang on for dear life, and refuse to let go. It may just be the difference in building a very good team, and building a potential powerhouse.
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