A lot of you are understandably still reeling from this past season and concerned about what the future holds. Let’s get into your questions.
This was a rough season. I can feel the pain through the comments section of the mailbag.
What started as a prompt for questions quickly devolved into a group therapy session. Trust me, it was a rough year for all of us. Answering your questions has actually been cathartic.
Anyways, let’s dive into the questions you did present.
It’s an interesting thought. This season featured some of the most brazen tanking efforts the NBA has seen.
I think the trouble with your proposed idea is how exactly you enforce it. What Sam Hinkie and Sam Presti did can’t really be combatted … short of the league forcing a team to take on a couple Colangelos. A lot of teams, especially in smaller markets, have trouble luring free agents of all kinds. I’m not sure how you can force them into building competitive rosters, outside of maybe raising the salary floor, but even that’s not a deterrent as teams can simply take on bad contracts.
But that’s not to pick on your idea. None of the ideas the league has tried have worked and I haven’t heard anyone propose anything that makes sense.
Adam Silver installing the Colangelos set the Sixers back. Bryan Colangelo squandered most of the assets Hinkie had accumulated. It was only the star power of Joel Embiid that kept the team on a positive trajectory. Flattened lottery odds, player participation policy — none of it has stopped teams from trying to improve their lottery odds. And when you have a team like the Thunder looking like a juggernaut, why would a franchise not look to replicate that?
I’m not sure what the solution is, but the league will likely implement more measures to try to stifle tanking.
I think the answer is “c.” The only reason they tanked this season is because of the injury situation they found themselves in. As I’ve often joked, most teams chose the tank, the tank seemed to choose the Sixers.
When I think about the process they’d have to undergo to tank, I’m not sure there’s a realistic path. If you want to move off Embiid and Paul George, you’re likely going to have to attach assets to do so. That will help the tank but hurt your overall long-term team building if you’re giving up young players or future picks.
The other thought is moving Tyrese Maxey for as much as possible. I also don’t see this one as feasible at all. You likely won’t get proper value for Maxey because he is coming off a slight down year and his max contract is just kicking in. Plus, you might not care about optics, but I assure you the team does. Moving on from one of the few bright spots for this team over the last few seasons would likely lead to a revolt — especially if Embiid and George are unmovable and remain here.
My personal two cents is that I also wouldn’t look to move Maxey. He’s still only 24, has shown plenty of growth, and he’s the exact type of player you want as the leader of your franchise. That’s an intangible thing, but to hear Kyle Lowry gush over Maxey and his makeup, trading guys like that is often a mistake. I know Maxey and Jared McCain might not be the ideal backcourt fit — and adding Quentin Grimes and possibly another guard in the draft only muddies things — but if you’re truly going to rebuild, the goal should be to acquire as many good players and assets as possible and then sort it out.
Short answer is I don’t see a realistic path to tanking, regardless of if the pick conveys to OKC now or next year.
I’m going to do this semi-rapid fire to avoid making this unbearable to read.
- I lean Brett Brown as the best coach but I will say that Nick Nurse had Embiid well on his way to his second MVP and Maxey won Most Improved Player in Nurse’s first season. Doc Rivers was the coach who allowed Embiid to operate at the elbow and nail for the first time, but just about every other decision was bad. I would genuinely like to see Brown get another NBA shot and see what Nurse can do with a healthy roster.
- Hinkie was the best and Colangelo was the worst in a freaking landslide. I’ll always be curious where Hinkie would’ve taken them or what would’ve happened if the team hired someone competent to replace him.
- Oh, this is a little tricky. As far as pure talent it would be close between the 2018-19 and the 2022-23 teams. What’s funny is one big factor in both teams falling short was Tobias Harris. If the teams got more from him in either series they lost, they likely would’ve reached the Eastern Conference Finals. Then, who knows? Honorable mention for the 2020-21 team. They had the best path to reaching the ECF and simply choked, though I don’t believe they were as talented as the other groups.
- I’m a little confused by the souring on Maxey (not saying you’ve soured, just in general). I’m not certain that a team can win with him as the No. 1 option but I’d like to know for sure before considering any type of move. With Embiid and George, I’m just so uncertain about their health going forward that I can’t even project out that far. I would say if Embiid and George are unable to regain anything close to their All-Star level play, it’ll be nice to have a guy like Maxey to start over with.
- Morey, Nurse, Embiid and George are seemingly all tied together. I would buckle up for all of them to be here through 2027-28 — though another season like this past one could change that outlook in a hurry.
- Josh Harris is a businessman so even with the Washington Commanders his goal is to make money. For the most part, Harris has put forth the resources to help Morey build a contender, but moves like trading KJ Martin and attaching valuable second-rounders in a salary dump are disappointing.
I’m sorry, you don’t like the mailbags?!
In all seriousness, Twitter/X has become horrible for any kind of discourse and the LB community is all right here. I’d rather engage you all here than weed through bullshit on there.
What a time to be alive where the discourse in a comments section is infinitely better than social media!