From the Process to the Promised Land?
by Dick Weiss
The Philadelphia 76ers could be one piece away from a playoff bid, if they make the most of the No. 3 overall pick
After four frustrating, seemingly never-ending seasons, the Philadelphia 76ers finally appear ready to take the next step in the Process.
The Sixers, who won just 10 games in 2016, increased that total to 28 this past season with a team that was injury plagued at key positions. Who knows what might have happened if if 7–0 center Joel Embiid, the best young center in the league when healthy; and 6–10 rookie point/forward Ben Simmons, the first pick in the 2016 NBA draft, had been healthy.
Embiid, who missed the first two seasons of his career with a fractured right foot, is coming off a breakout season, averaging 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.45 blocks in 25.4 minutes per game with restricted playing time. But he only played 31 games and was shut down for the season after being diagnosed with a bone bruise and torn meniscus of his left knee Jan. 27. Simmons missed his entire rookie season after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured right foot.
The two stars are expected to play next season, which could open the door for the Sixers to make a run at an Eastern Conference playoff spot, provided they make the right selection in the upcoming NBA draft.
There are a growing number of Sixers’ diehard fans who have short memories of three miserable seasons from 2014–16, and are suddenly lionizing former GM Sam Hinkle, who took an unconventional approach to rebuilding the franchise from the ashes to a contender by sacrificing victories during the regular season and trading away key rotation players to obtain multiple high lottery picks. Amassing losses is the easy part. Selecting a player who is the right fit is harder.
The Sixers have the third pick overall. If second-year president of basketball operations/and general manager Brian Colangelo chooses wisely, the process could be accelerated. The Sixers need a knockout shooter who can play off Simmons — a great passer, but a non-shooter — who will likely be the team’s primary ball handler.
Most scouts feel Kansas 6–8 freshman forward Josh Jackson is the best player on the board.
The Big 12 Rookie of the Year declared for the NBA draft in April after averaging 16.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 31.8 minutes for an NCAA Elite Eight team.
Jackson is an exceptional two-way player who would be an excellent complement to Simmons’ passing skills in transition. He has already showcased a huge upside as a slasher and supplementary playmaker on offense. He needs to put on weight but has shown the ability to use his long arms to get into the passing lanes and anticipates well as an on-the-ball and team defender who can guard four different positions. Jackson seems like a perfect fit for the NBA because of his versatility and athleticism and the perfect fit for Brett Brown’s style of creating offense out of defense and Embiid’s ability to block shots to create opportunities in transition.
Questions persist about whether Jackson can develop a reliable enough jump shot to become an elite offensive player. His three-point shooting percentage improved to 37.8 percent over the course of the season but he shot just 56.5 percent from the free throw line. Still, his combination of his physical tools has left scouts drooling. Plus, if the Sixers decide to take Jackson, they have the option to move 6–10 Croatian import Dario Saric, who like Embiid was a finalist for NBA Rookie of the Year, to power forward and use cap space to pursue a proven shooter like guard J.J. Reddick of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Jackson does have one issue that needs to be addressed.
He recently agreed to attend anger management classes, complete a minimum of 20 hours of community service, write a letter of apology and refrain from using alcohol or recreational drugs for a year as part of a diversion deal arising from his confrontation with a Jayhawks’ women’s basketball player Mackenzie Calvert outside a Lawrence bar last December.
Jackson signed a stipulation of facts in which he said he followed Calvert out of the bar after she threw a drink at his Kansas teammate Legerald Vick. He said he yelled at Calvert and called her names before she got into the car and locked the doors. Jackson admitted in a statement to kicking her vehicle, breaking the left rear tail light and denting the driver’s door. A damage estimate to the car for $2,991 was given to police in December. The total repair fill was $3,127. Jackson was not charged with felony criminal damage of more than $1,000 because prosecutors could not prove he did all the damage.
As part of his agreement, Jackson had to pay Calvert’s father $250 in restitution in addition to court costs and a diversion fee. He will be probation on for six months and must pay a $250 fine. If Jackson completes the program, the case against him will be dismissed. If he violates probation, Jackson will have to serve 30 days in jail. Kansas coach Bill Self suspended Jackson for the opening game of the Big 12 Tournament because of the incident.
The Sixers are likely to excuse his behavior if they feel it was an isolated incident.
But they are also likely to take a long look at Duke forward Jayson Tatum before they make a final decision if only because Tatum has better shooting mechanics and shot making abilities as well as the ability to score as a face up slasher, spot up shooter and mid-post threat and shot 85 percent from the line. Jackson is a better disruptive force at the wing but Tatum has a 6–11 wing span the quickness and length to guard most forwards in the league.
The jury is still out on whether Tatum will ever have Lonzo Ball-type ability to make his teammates better. Tatum can be a black hole on offense who tends to hold the ball when he gets touches and could take shot opportunities away from Embiid.
Having said that, the Sixers have a history of taking the best player over the best fit in the past.
Hinkie took point guard Michael Carter Williams of Syracuse with the 11th pick in the 2013 draft, passing on promising 6–11 small forward Giannis Antetokounmpo from Nigeria and the Greek professional league, who went to Milwaukee four picks later. Antetokounmpo, who is equally effective at the guard spot because of his ball handling skills, has since gone on to become an All Star and second team all-league player in 2017. He is one of the most exciting players in the league. Carter-Williams was selected Rookie of the Year but has since been traded twice, most recently to Chicago, and has turned into an underachieving unrestricted free agent.
Then, he selected 6–11 center Jahlil Okafor of Duke with the third pick in 2015, even though they already had two bigs — Embiid and 6–11 Nerlens Noel — on the roster over power forward Kristaps Porzingis, who went to the Knicks with the fourth pick; and Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers. The decision was enough for critics to plant seeds of doubt about Hinkie’s ability as a talent evaluator and eventually led to his resignation at the end of the 2016 season.
Colangelo is here to make sure the Sixers don’t squander this opportunity.
Dick Weiss is a sportswriter and columnist for Blue Star Media, previously of the Philadelphia Daily News and New York Daily News, and has authored seven books including True Blue: A Tribute to Mike Krzyzewski’s Career at Duke.
