NBA 2015-16 season: Grading every team’s performance
By Tom West
Philadelphia 76ers (F)
“Trust the process”, they said. “It’ll all be fine”, they said. Well, after a few tank infested seasons that have seen the 76ers desperately fall to the lowest depths of the NBA, GM Sam Hinkie has stepped down and left Philadelphia in no better standing than it was a few years ago.
His intent to rid the team of talent and acquire draft picks and lottery-level talent has landed them Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor, but that’s it. Too many big men. Noel is an energetic defender at his best and Okafor possesses rare talent on the low block for a 20-year-old, averaging 17.5 points per game on 50 percent shooting before heading down court to showcase his atrocious defense.
Yet, after the surprise trade to send 2013-14 Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams on his way in 2015, nothing has picked up at all.
There’s no need to explain 76ers basketball this season. If you’ve ever had the unfortunate need or desire to watch one of their games, you’ll know they ranked dead last in offensive efficiency and 23rd in defensive efficiency for good reason. Besides Ish Smith adding some respectability at times, nothing has been good. And even then, “the process” led to them considering trading Smith away at the deadline.
Now, the 76ers are left with all their hope riding on this year’s draft. They’ll have the best chance to get their desperate hands on the number one overall pick, landing them the option to select a rare and unique talent like Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram. Although, seeing how the 76ers never seem to have any good fortune after a disastrous tanking run, losing the first pick to someone else in the lottery would probably be their luck.
As a destination that no free agent will want to go to, the worst record in the league leaves them with one last chance to get things right in the 2016 draft and no other prospects in their future.
Right now, it’s hard for anyone to trust “the process”.
Next: Brooklyn Nets