NBA Season Preview: Philadelphia 76ers

Written by Brendon Donohoe

Welcome to our NBA season preview. Leading up to the first game of the NBA season, we will be counting down every team in the NBA. First up, the Philadelphia 76ers.

30) Philadelphia 76ers

2014-2015 Record: 18-64

Roster Breakdown

• Key Offseason Additions: Jahlil Okafor (Draft)
• Key Offseason Loses: Gerald Wallace (lol)

The good news here is that there are some actual NBA players on this team that are loaded with potential. The third overall pick in the 2015 draft, Jahlil Okafor, is the centerpiece of this team. In a league with so few high quality centers, the value of Okafor cannot be understated. Playing beside him is the other talented big man, Nerlens Noel. In his first year of actually playing, Noel proved to be a defensive force. Now if Noel’s offensive game can catch up to his defensive game, then we are going to be looking at a perennial all-star. As for the rest of the starters, there may be less star power, but there is still talent. Robert Covington looked like he might have a career as starting small forward after a decent season last year. At the very least, Covington will be a high quality bench player. The same goes for Tony Wroten, though he might be better suited for the point than at shooting guard. Isaiah Cannon really has no business starting, and should only be coming off the bench.

The bench has just as much potential as it has question marks. Carl Landry and Hollis Thompson are the only sure things off the bench. Landry has a proven track record of being a quality big man off the bench, and he also gives the team some much needed veteran experience. Thompson showed flashes of potential, but struggled as a starter last year. By coming off the bench we should see a bit more of the good, and less of the bad. After those two there are only question marks. The 76ers traded for former top 10 pick Nik Stauskas, who struggled in his rookie season with the Sacramento Kings, but has a great chance of bouncing back this season. Jerami Grant and J.P. Tokoto are two second rounders that you should look out for. Both appear to have NBA talent, even if that talent is strictly off the bench. The most intriguing player is Pierre Jackson, who absolutely tore up the D-League. Whether or not those numbers will translate in the NBA has yet to be seen. The big disappoint here is Joel Embiid. As more time passes, it looks like we have another Greg Oden on our hands. Tons of talent, great personality, but the guy just cannot stay healthy.

Question on Everyone’s Mind?

How the hell does Sam Hinkie still have a job?

I thoroughly believe that if you’re not at the top then you better be at the bottom when it comes to the NBA. As cold hearted as it to the fan base, sucking for a few years to acquire some high quality young talent is actually really smart, especially if you are not one of the big free agent markets. So in theory, I actually love Sam Hinkie’s plan. The problem is that I don’t think this team has improved all that much in three years. Instead this team looks like it is going to be tanking for a couple more years. At what point do you piss of your fan base to the point of no return? He gave up on Michael Carter Williams for a future lottery pick. Drafted Joel Embiid, a center with a serious injury red flag. Traded K.J. McDaniels for Isaiah Cannon and a pick, JUST BECAUSE MCDANIELS WAS GOING TO COST HIM MONEY TO KEEP. Traded the very promising point guard Elfrid Peyton for the possibly talented Dario Saric (who will be spending another year overseas). Sure the young guns like Noel, Okafor, Stauskus, Covington, and Wroten definitely have potential, it is still probably going to be years before these guys become the game changers their team hopes they will be. Hell, odds are Hinkie will trade one of them for more picks. Long story short, Hinkie understands how to go from the bottom to the top, just his execution is all wrong.

Season Outlook

Prepare for another dumpster fire of a season. The 76ers MIGHT be slightly more competitive, and manage to win a couple of more games (much to Sam Hinkie’s displeasure), but still expect this team to be the worst in the league. I am going to predict that Carl Landry will get traded for a couple of second round picks, Jahlil Okafor will win rookie of the year, and that Head Coach Brett Brown gets fired shortly after the regular season ends.

Las Vegas Over/Under – 21.5

Prediction – Over with 22, finishing 15th in the east

Check out the other installments of our NBA season preview.

29) Brooklyn Nets

28) Minnesota Timberwolves

27) Portland Trail Blazers

26) Denver Nuggets