Rebuilding through draft will take Sixers only so far | John Smallwood
To get significantly better, the Sixers have to consider trades and free agents.
NOW THAT pingpong balls have been selected and the Sixers know that they will have the No. 3 pick in next month's NBA draft, you can make a reasoned argument for what they should do moving forward to the 2017-18 season and beyond.
The Sixers are at an interesting position because they improved their win total by an NBA-high 18 games this season.
However, that still translated only into a 28-54 record. Based on the 2016-17 standings, the Sixers would have to improve by 13 wins next season just to get the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
It's difficult to gauge what the Sixers' improvement truly means because rookie Ben Simmons, the No. 1 overall pick in 2016, missed the entire season after breaking his foot. And, while center Joel Embiid made a spectacular debut after sitting out his first two seasons, he still played only 31 games.
By almost every standard, Embiid and Simmons are the biggest factors in what this franchise will be able to achieve in the next five to 10 seasons, but both are still mysteries.
For the foreseeable future, however, the Sixers' fate is solidly linked to the potential of Simmons and Embiid, so whatever moves they make have to be done with the goal of assuring those two maximize their potential.
After the draft lottery, Sixers president/general manager Bryan Colangelo said the franchise could continue on a measured path of waiting on young talent to mature or "speed things up with free-agent acquisitions and/or trades."
I think the Sixers can do both. Building for the future and trying to win now do not have to be mutually exclusive.
The Sixers have gone too far down the road and invested too much into building through the draft to simply abandon that philosophy. And, with Embiid and Simmons, the have their foundation blocks.
At this stage, making measurable steps toward winning a championship takes precedent over draft pick acquisition.
The best thing for the Sixers will be if their first-round picks get lower and lower from here on out. Here's how I'd approach this offseason:
The 2017 draft: Unless it's just a ridiculously good offer, the Sixes should not trade the third overall pick. Hopefully, it is the Sixers last "natural" lottery pick for a while, so use it to add another young impact piece to grow alongside Simmons, Embiid and Dario Saric.
Earlier, when it looked as if the Sixers might select in the five-to-seven range, my choice was sweet-shooting Kentucky guard Malik Monk.
Now, working on the expectation that Boston will select combo-guard Markelle Fultz first overall and the Lakers will then go for hometown point guard Lonzo Ball, I couldn't pass on Kansas small-forward Josh Jackson.
I know his shooting needs to improve, but virtually every top player in this draft needs to improve in some area. That's the nature of the one-and-done phenomena.
If you are going to gamble on the upside of high-level prospects, gamble on the one who is a freakish athlete. Jackson can finish at the basket and play tough defense, so even if he never develops a great outside shot, he'll fit in to the way the Sixers want to play.
If Simmons is going to be the Sixers point guard, I can't see using the third pick on that position, so bye-bye to De'Aaron Fox of Kentucky, Dennis Smith Jr. of North Carolina State and Frank Ntilikina of France.
Now if Fultz or Ball is still on the board that changes things.
Trade: It's no secret that the Sixers want to move center Jahlil Okafor, but the stock of the No. 3 pick in the 2015 draft as fallen badly.
Realistically, you'd have to look at a young player that a another team has soured on, which sometimes that turns out great.
Some names to explore would be Washington swingman Kelly Oubre Jr., Orlando swingman Mario Hezonja, Detroit small forward Stanley Johnson or Milwaukee guard Rashad Vaughn.
Here's an interesting thought, since the Sixers have two first-round picks in 2018.
Keep the one that transfers from the Los Angeles Lakers next season - it should be the higher pick if the Sixers improve as expected - but package the natural pick with Okafor in an offer to the Lakers for combo-guard D'Angelo Russell, who would become redundant if Los Angeles drafts Ball.
Sixers coach Brett Brown loved having forward Thaddeus Young when he first got here, and I'd give Indiana a couple of second-round picks to eat the $26 million Young (11 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last season) is owed over the next two seasons.
Free agency: Unless Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant decides to take less money to leave Golden State, the Sixers should not break the bank in free agency, but they have to do better than last summer.
The right veterans can do wonders for a developing team. Utah added 30-somethings Joe Johnson, George Hill and Boris Diaw and went from a lottery team to one that won 51 games and and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals this season.
Veterans such as shooting guards J.J. Redick and Kyle Korver; point guards such as Hill, Jeff Teague and Patty Mills, forward Danilo Gallinari or even the return of small-forward Andre Iguodala could have a similar impact for the Sixers.
For the right price, I'd make a run at a couple of them.
@SmallTerp