Are the 76ers making the right moves in building a playoff team?
Trust The Process.
That has been the motto for the Philadelphia 76ers the past few years. After disappointing seasons in recent years, that motto has become a joke around the NBA. To the 76ers, that motto is no joke. The 76ers have a process and are trying to build a championship-caliber team. Rebuilding the team from the ground up has been their process, but it has taken longer than they probably hoped.
Entering this season, there was plenty of optimism for 76ers fans. The playoffs were not in thoughts of many and with a record of 22-38 it seems quite unlikely that any hope of the postseason in 2017 happens. The optimism came from the young players getting healthy and having a great chance to use this season to develop. The 76ers’ first round draft pick in 2014, Joel Embiid, finally got to play after missing the last two seasons with a foot injury. Then there are other young players like Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Ben Simmons, all with chances to develop.
Some of that optimism has simmer down, however. Embiid was fantastic for 31 games. He averaged 20.2 points per game, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and was getting better. Embiid tore his meniscus at the end of January and will miss the rest of the season. Then, before the season even started. the 76ers got news that Simmons would miss three to four months with a broken foot and then right after the trade deadline discovered his foot is not healing well enough and would miss the entire 2016-2017 season.
Speaking of the trade deadline, this deadline was very important for the 76ers in their goal of building a playoff team. The 76ers had options going into the deadline. Philadelphia had a logjam of big men on its roster. The core of the 76ers in the future couldn’t include Embiid, Noel and Okafor. With Embiid looking like a potential star, the obvious move was to trade Noel or Okafor.
The 76ers chose to trade Noel and that made many 76ers fans angry. Some because they thought Noel was better than Okafor, but many were angry because of the return. Noel was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Andrew Bogut, Justin Anderson, and a heavily protected first round pick. Bogut’s contract was bought out and Anderson is young, but doesn’t project to be much more than a bench player. Unless the Mavericks make a miracle push to the playoffs, that first round draft pick turns into future second round picks.
After weeks of talks of a large Okafor trade, the news of Noel being traded was surprising and underwhelming for 76ers fans. Especially since Noel is having a better season than Okafor. Okafor is averaging 11.5 points per game compared to Noel’s 8.7 points per game, but Noel is averaging almost four minutes less at 19.4 minutes per game. Noel, in those fewer minutes, is averaging more rebounds, blocks, steals and shoots 61.1 percent compared to Okafor’s 50.9 percent
That doesn’t necessarily mean the move was bad. The biggest reason the 76ers traded Noel instead of Okafor is likely because Noel is a restricted free agent this summer. If the 76ers were to keep Noel, he would have gotten a significant pay raise, as he should. Philadelphia was probably okay with that, but when Okafor's value went down at the deadline it probably shifted the team's thinking. Due to the low return that the Sacramento Kings got for DeMarcus Cousins, it brought Okafor's market value down low enough it made more sense trading Noel.
The 76ers had to do something with one of those players. 76ers fans may be mad because it’s very likely the best asset Philadelphia got in the trade is future second round picks, but trading Noel gives the 76ers flexibility in the future. Realistically, the 76ers will not be competing for the playoffs until at least the 2018-19 season. Philadelphia has $75 dollars to spend this offseason and even less committed for future seasons. The 76ers could have lowered their asking price on Okafor and committed to Noel, but signing Noel would have taken a large chunk of that spending money away.
Philadelphia has tons of young talent in Embiid, Okafor, Simmons and Dario Saric. Even if the first round pick from the Mavericks turns into second round picks, the 76ers will still have two first round picks.
It’s a risk letting Noel go as right now he is the better player compared to Okafor.
It’s a risk worth taking.
With so many young prospects, there is a good chance some, if not most, will develop into quality players. Trading Noel and not having to pay him allows the 76ers to have some options. They can use that money to extend Embiid if he stays healthy and continues to be a star. It also lets the 76ers go out and sign a star veteran player in the future if there is a hole that needs to be filled or are missing that one piece.
The 76ers philosophy going into the trade deadline was not poor. It’s possible the move to trade Noel will back fire, but that doesn’t mean it was the wrong option. Philadelphia seems to believe in its young players. Having future flexibility is good for a team like the 76ers and that is what they will have trading away Noel.
