By Eric Rotteveel
Staff Writer
On Feb. 20 the Philadelphia 76ers traded three of their top players, Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes, and Lavoy Allen, in return for multiple second-round picks and relatively useless bench players.
With these trades, the Sixers front office assured fans of what they were thinking all along: the Sixers are losing on purpose. Many people call what the Sixers are doing ‘tanking’, which means they are attempting to lose as many games as possible in order to get a high pick in the draft.
With Turner and Hawes the Sixers were a bad team, but somewhat respectable. Now, they are a roster filled with inexperienced players and that have spent a majority of their career in the D-League (NBA minor league).
“If you’re putting that roster on the floor, you’re doing everything you can possibly do to try to lose,” said former NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy about the Sixers on a March 1, 2014 interview with nj.com.
Although the product on the floor is ugly, what the Sixers are doing is completely rational. The theory of ‘tanking’ is to get out of the middle of the pack in the NBA, which the Sixers have been in for years, and eventually become a title contender.
“I’d rather have the Sixers be a great team later and stink now,” freshman Dan Raykovitz said. “It’s better than having them be a mediocre team for a long time.”
With all the top players the Sixers have traded away, as well as having the second worst record in the NBA, they have put themselves in position for not only a high-draft pick but also to have lots of money to spend on free-agents. In essence, they are sacrificing this season in hopes for major improvement in the future.
One of the main reasons that the Sixers decided to implement this strategy is because this year’s draft is one of the strongest drafts in years. Led by projected future all-stars Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and a host of strong NBA prospects, many teams believe they can get franchise-changing players from this draft.
With an almost guaranteed top-five pick, the Sixers will have to make a huge decision on draft night. Many people predict that the Sixers would take a wing player, likely Wiggins or Parker, since the point guard spot is in good hands with outstanding rookie Michael Carter- Williams and a rookie center in Nerlens Noel.
“There are a lot of players in this draft that will have successful NBA careers,” freshman Nick Glicker said. “I would choose Andrew Wiggins because I think he has the most potential for the future.”
With likely two of the first 15 draft picks, the Sixers can bring in two more solid young players to complement Carter -Williams and Noel.
Although the season has been rough, Sixers fans at Neshaminy have lots to look forward to. With the outstanding draft class and lots of money to spend on free agents, expect a much different team on the court next year.
