Philadelphia 76ers: Trust, but verify

The Step Back has been born from the aesthetics and traditions of the Hardwood Paroxysm Basketball Network. In the past, Hardwood Paroxysm has produced a massive stand-alone season preview. This year, that preview effort has been rolled up into the launch of The Step Back. 

The Step Back’s writers and illustrators have prepared a hefty deep-dive into each team, built from multiple smaller sections. This year’s theme is television comedies and each section is named after some of our favorite sitcoms. For links to all 30 teams, as well as details about the focus of each section, check out our guide on how to read this preview.

Community

By Bryan Toporek (@btoporek)

For the past three seasons, Philadelphia 76ers fans have been mired in the most drastic rebuilding experiment in league history. Heading into 2016-17, the light at the end of the tunnel has never been brighter.

During his three-year tenure, former general manager Sam Hinkie intentionally stripped the franchise’s roster of virtually all its NBA talent, ensuring the Sixers would be in line for multiple top-tier draft picks. After amassing nearly 200 losses over that span (compared to just 47 wins), Philadelphia ownership lost patience with Hinkie’s “Process” and sought to demote him just as the franchise entered its most crucial offseason yet.

Out went Hinkie and in came new team president Bryan Colangelo, who inherited a wealth of young talent and a few headaches, too. Though Hinkie left him a frontcourt laden with former lottery picks, Colangelo immediately set out to move the Sixers from “Process” to “progress,” as team CEO Scott O’Neil made clear heading into the draft lottery. Winning the No. 1 pick — aka, the right to draft Ben Simmons — helped accelerate that mission, but the Sixers entered free agency with glaring holes in the backcourt and a massive logjam at center.

Colangelo rectified the first issue by signing Jerryd Bayless, Sergio Rodriguez and Gerald Henderson in free agency, giving the Sixers some much-needed veteran presences at guard, but he punted on the second, refusing to deal either Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor for less than full price. Joel Embiid, the former No. 3 overall pick, may have in part influenced that latter decision, as he’s working his way back from consecutive foot surgeries and hasn’t played competitive basketball in two-and-a-half years.

Though Noel expressed frustration with the Sixers’ abundance of centers heading into training camp, telling Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, “It’s just not going to work to anybody’s advantage having that on the same team,” Colangelo has repeatedly stated he’s in no hurry to make a move. Instead, he’s willing to let the situation play out naturally, seeing which players mesh well with others before determining who should be a long-term piece of the franchise.

In a nutshell, that’s what the 2016-17 season boils down to for the Sixers. After three years of blatant tanking, they’ve amassed enough talent to begin moving toward building a championship contender. It’s now up to Colangelo and head coach Brett Brown to begin separating the wheat from the chaff. They need to figure out which players complement each other best, even if the experimentation costs them some winnable games.

Even before Simmons suffered a foot fracture during training camp — an injury which is expected to sideline him until December or possibly January, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman — the Sixers were not ever going to contend for a playoff berth this season. They’ll improve upon their 10-win mark from 2015-16 because, well, it’s damn near impossible to be worse, but expecting even 30 wins out of this squad would be ambitious. Simmons, Saric, Embiid and fellow rookie Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot will all be making their NBA debuts this season, while Rodriguez hasn’t played in the Association since 2009-10. It takes time to grow acclimated with a system and develop chemistry, something that will remain a work in progress for Philadelphia all season.

In the meantime, player development remains the hallmark of what this organization should hope to accomplish this season. Can Noel begin consistently hitting mid-range jump shots? Did Okafor learn how to properly defend a pick-and-roll over the offseason? Will having a replacement-level point guard help Robert Covington boost his shooting efficiency? Are Jerami Grant and Richaun Holmes potential second-unit keepers? What do Simmons, Embiid, Saric and Luwawu bring to the table? Above all else, are Simmons and Embiid the franchise cornerstones they’re widely perceived to be? Answering those questions will be paramount for the Sixers’ long-term future.

In some ways, Colangelo is continuing Hinkie’s Process—particularly by not rushing into a decision about which center to trade—but he’s also making far more of an attempt to field a competitive team in the short term than Hinkie ever did. Though the #process2progress hashtag is an unspeakable abomination on the level of Donald Trump’s hair, it’s a fitting description of the 2016-17 Sixers.

Hinkie planted the seeds in the orchard; it’s now up to Brown and Colangelo to nurture and harvest the cream of the crop.

Seinfeld

By Matt Rutkowski (@MontaWorldPeace)

The Process.

The Process has nothing to do with this team. The fact that all their assets, young players, future picks, and about everything else you can think of is a result of The Process doesn’t matter. The fact that turning from bottom of the league to contender is procedural is also unrelated. The star rookie got injured before the season began and may not play a game until 2017. That’s new, right? Of course it is. We’re discovering on a brand new way of sticking your hand in a blender. The Colangelo Way. The process is salad dressing on a window or something.

Yep, everything’s different now. On October 2nd, 2016 Bryan and Jerry Colangelo rented a small yacht to take from the Philadelphia airport up the Delaware river. It was three in the morning and Bryan, who from now on will be referred to as George, was concerned.

“Daddy?” said George.

“Yes, my son?” Jerry replied.

“Is this really going to make a difference?”

Jerry was tired. Most of his rituals took place directly after the early bird specials. “You remember, the story, right George? I did this after the 2004 Olympics, and in 2008 I won the gold medal.”

“I guess you’re right,” George conceded.

“There is no guessing, only yessing. Now let’s get going,” Jerry commanded.

“Yes,” George replied. He rooted around in the duffel bag for the brick with the letter T. He handed it to his father with a bow.

“Alright, son. Keep an eye out for the boats with the word “police” on it. Also, if you’re going to aim for a person, try to hit center mass. Heads are weak to flying bricks, and we don’t want any real trouble. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Jerry found his center of gravity, and hucked the T at a passing goose. The brick arced through the air like a Nik Stauskus 3. It also missed.

The H and E followed. Tiny waves rippled through the Delaware flotsam.

“Can I try, dad?” George moonwalked excitedly.

“Sure thing, little guy. Remember, keep your feet shoulder width apart, and spin really fast.”

He spun too fast. The brick fell to the 2nd deck, and George’s knee hurled into the railing with all the force of a can of diet coke when you put a Mentos in it. George hid his whimper under his hand.

“I think I’ll take it from here, George”

“Okay, dad. I’m pretty dizzy.”

Jerry slipped on his release of the P, but the R went straight the back window of a car on the Walt Whitman Bridge. The laughter carried on for several miles.

Bryan looked to his right to see numerous small fires. “Daddy! Daddy!” Bryan exclaimed, “I think I see New Jersey!”

“That’s the forgotten land.” Jerry replied. “We don’t talk about that. Do you want to try one more?”

“Yeah!” George picked up the O and lobbed it over the railing toward a slow moving canoe. Contact! A voice came back “Ow, the fifth metatarsal on my right foot!”

Bryan’s ears perked, and the fur on his tail went rigid. “Dad, did that sound like Ben Simmons?”

Jerry responded, “Who’s that? Hand me the C.”

George froze.

“The C, Goerge. It’s time for the C.”

“There is no C, Pops.”

“What do you mean there’s no C?”

“I have an S. Will an S work?”

“Of course an S won’t work! Don’t you know how to spell ‘process?’”

“That was Sam’s job!”

Silence followed. It was more awkward than the opposite of a casual conversation among old friends over a particularly well-constructed plate of vegan nachos.

At last, Jerry sighed. “This will have to do, I suppose. Come on, George. Let’s go home.”

George thought the helicopter ride home would last forever, but somehow he found himself walking through the door to his bedroom, almost by magic. Which it was. Sometimes time is all it takes to make things right. It pays to have the longest view in the room. But not too long, of course. That’s madness.

George climbed into bed. Jerry kissed him on the forehead and turned out the racecar table lamp.

Half asleep, George mumbled, “Daddy?”

Jerry stopped in the door. “Yes George?”

“This Christmas, can I have a different job?”

Jerry chuckled. “We’ll see, son. We’ll see.”

Outside a shooting star flew over the rising sun, but Jerry and George couldn’t see it from inside their underground bunker.

The Odd Couple

By Philip Rossman-Reich (@OMagicDaily)

The Philadelphia 76ers rebuild began in earnest when Nerlens Noel slipped down the draft board. It was clear Andrew Bynum and the trade that brought him in was a bust. The 76ers had a high draft pick they used on future Rookie of the Year, Michael Carter-Williams, but their prize was in moving up.

They gave up the often-injured but still potential All-Star Jrue Holiday for Noel and the hard reset that would come with the roster. Noel would have been the top pick in that terrible 2013 NBA Draft if not for a torn ACL he suffered in the middle of his freshman year at Kentucky. Noel would sit out the entire season. And the tanking would begin.

As the 76ers collected assets in draft after draft, things kept coming up wrong. The third pick in the 2014 NBA Draft turned out to be Joel Embiid (another center). The second pick in the 2015 Draft ended up becoming Jahlil Okafor (another center). The roster is stacked with big men — all the best players available in the draft, taken by a team without thought to fit or the makeup of the roster.

Philadelphia trusted the process long enough. They sacrificed Sam Hinkie at the altar and now have to figure out this mess for better or worse.

The 76ers may not win this season — especially with prized top overall pick Ben Simmons potentially out for the season. But they will try to win eventually. Sooner rather than later. The tanking days are over. Philadelphia’s too-talented front court is already starting to show cracks and fissures. The team will not be able to field a team with three big men on the floor at the same time. And everyone knows it.

“I think it’s just silly . . . this situation that we are in now with three starting centers,” Noel told Keith Pompey of Philly.com. “With the departure of [former general manager and president] Sam Hinkie, I would have figured that management would be able to get something done this summer.”

That has put Noel squarely on the trade block. Or Okafor. One or the other as the Sixers seem ready to invest fully in Joel Embiid. Even then, a Noel-Embiid or an Okafor-Embiid frontline may not work since none of the three have much of a perimeter game to speak of. The fit does not quite work anyway.

Noel is the better defender by far. He has a career 4.0 Defensive Box Plus-Minus, according to Basketball-Reference. If only his offense were not so terrible. Noel gives virtually nothing on the offensive end.

Okafor is the better offensive player by far. He posted 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game his rookie year. But he gave much of that back up with his defense — a -1.5 Defensive Box Plus-Minus and he did not score well offensively either despite the strong raw stats (-2.6 Offensive Box Plus-Minus). He is a rookie and still has plenty of room to grow. But the questions remain.

And the questions remain just how these two are supposed to work together — and then in tandem with Embiid.

The Sixers may be trying to create a real team, but they still have to deal with the reality of their current roster. It is still incomplete, full of holes and duplicated talent. Philadelphia is not competing for a playoff spot quite yet. They still have some time to figure it all out.

There is clearly a mismatch and clearly some discord among these three promising young bigs. They all cannot remain in Philadelphia and the 76ers have to figure it out at some point.

Noel is the easiest to deal with his upcoming restricted free agency. Okafor may have the most value as the youngest of the trio. Embiid is probably near untouchable for the 76ers with his potential as a shot blocker and offensive rim-runner (a better mix of the best of Noel and Okafor).

The Sixers will have to sort through their one-dimensional bigs sooner rather than later. Positional logjams like this do not go away until one player is moved. The 76ers will likely be searching for trade opportunities for one of their two bigs. Noel or Okafor are probably the two best players on the NBA’s young trade market.

Until then, the Sixers are full of young bigs they do not have the right combination to use properly. And more than tanking now, that may hold the Sixers back in their next step in the “process.”

Perfect Strangers

by Matt D’Anna (@hoop_nerd)

Ten Word Analysis: Chart doesn’t matter. Joel Embiid has arrived. Get ready.

TeamSPACE charts are based on mapped clusters of shot activity. These areas are affectionately called Hunting Grounds, because they are the areas on the court where a player hunts for shots — and successfully scores most often. TeamSPACE takes the Hunting Grounds of all five players in a lineup and puts them on the court together — because, you know, they have to share that physical space, and there is only one ball.

In the past, it was one color per player; which meant that blending colors represented overlapping spaces for shot activity. But this time around, these are not your ordinary TeamSPACE shot maps. Each lineup is analyzed in the aggregate — one color! — and that unit is compared that unit to the rest of the league. So you will see a persistent red layer on every chart, highlighting the league’s Hunting Grounds from last season. The most prolific locations should come as no surprise: the paint, the corners, most of the top of the arc, and a couple of dabs at the foul line and top of the key.

So…how were these lineups chosen for each team? In the past, it’s been about projecting the starting lineup, estimating the most used lineup, or even designing the “most favoritest” lineup. This year? It’s the these charts represent the “most interestingly feasible” lineups….what? That’s a loaded phrase, so let’s unpack it a bit.

The goal is to identify the collection of five players on a team that could potentially play together, and if they did, the offensive results could be glorious. Ideally these lineups aren’t too far-fetched, but also slightly off-kilter and confusing to an opposing defense. While this type of analysis is not conducive for assessing defense, somewhat reasonable decisions are attempted to be made. So while it’s tempting to just put all the best shooters together…how realistic is it (outside of Houston, at least)? And, full disclosure: I favor some stretch in my lineups. It not only provides plenty of high-octane potential, but getting stretchy is also on par with current league-wide trends.

Each TeamSPACE chart has a couple of other sitcom-related features:

Family Matters: You’ll notice a series of Jaleel White’s across half court. Each lineup is scored on a scale of 0-7 Steve Urkels for how well it matches league-wide trends. Remember, there’s seven league Hunting Grounds (right corner three; at the rim; left corner three; foul line/top of the key; right wing; middle 3pt; left wing). A lineup gains points for matching each area; it loses points for messy excess shot activity.

Odd Couple: “Most interestingly feasible” is obviously debatable, so in order to account for some of those decisions, you’ll see Oscar and Felix on each chart. Often, there are players that are in the lineup…and maybe/probably they should not be. They get the Oscar label. And, there are those players that are out of the lineup…and maybe/probably should be included. They are the Felix for their team.

And briefly, a word about data. These strange visual displays are based on last season’s shot data, weighted by made buckets — so rookies and season-long injuries are sadly excluded. This analysis is nothing without the help of Darryl Blackport, and the research materials available at Basketball-Reference and NBA.com. Further, these charts feature some of the best logo re-designs I could curate from the ol’ Information Superhighway, including Dribbble.com and Pinterest. I made none of the logos; I merely selected some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Freaks and Geeks

By Matt Femrite (@FattMemrite)

Over the last three seasons, the Philadelphia 76ers have scored 98 points per 100 possessions according to Basketball-Reference. With an infusion of highly-touted rookies and a few free agent acquisitions, Philadelphia should move on from one of the worst scoring stretches in recent memory.

It’s simply not enough to say the Sixers’ offense has been the worst in the league over the last few years. They haven’t been league-average since 2003, but when dividing a team’s offensive rating for a season by the league-average mark, the 2014-2016 Sixers are responsible for three of the 20 least-efficient offenses since 1974. Outside of a couple expansion teams, only the post-Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls and late-80s Los Angeles Clippers offenses were that bad for that long.

Compared to the 2012 and 2013 Sixers, the 2014-2016 squads recorded better offensive rebounding and free throw rates. Still bad, usually in the bottom ten each season, but better. The difference has been that and the 2012 and 2013 teams was that they took care of the ball and made just enough of their threes to prevent a nosedive in scoring. Several players were in overwhelming roles the last few years, but that should change with the help of this off-season’s additions. Joel Embiid and Dario Saric will make their highly anticipated debuts and they shored up their wing depth by acquiring Gerald Henderson, Jerryd Bayless, and Sergio Rodriguez through free agency.

Together, Embiid and Saric seem compatible up front, though Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor will be vying for minutes, too. During the pre-season, Embiid has looked capable of being the future focal point of the Sixers’ offense. This would provide a more normal usage distribution across the roster, preventing the Ish Smiths of the roster posting similar playmaking loads as the Gordon Haywards. Saric’s skill set appears to be a stretchy power forward, though overseas prospects take time to acclimate themselves to the NBA. Still, the players in that role last year were Robert Covington, a 35 percent three-point shooter on nine attempts per 36 minutes, but also Jerami Grant (35-for-146, 24 percent). Saric’s shooting should be a plus for a team that ranked 30th, 29th, and 24th in three-point percentage each of the last three seasons.

Meanwhile, Henderson (20.2 usage rate last season) and Bayless (16.4) provide scoring without coughing up the ball, each averaging just 1.7 turnovers per 36 minutes. They also offer competent three-point shooting. Henderson has shot 34 percent since 2013, the first of four straight seasons of attempting 100 threes, but 41 percent from the corners. Bayless shot 44 percent from three last season, though he’s been all over the map throughout his career, averaging out to 37 percent. Ben Simmons’ injury is unfortunate for several reasons, but it should be noted here that Bayless, a 6-3 shooting guard thanks to his skill set, could’ve fed off his playmaking.

Talent at point guard was a major issue for Philadelphia last season, but Sergio Rodriguez should be a somewhat decent cog. Last seen in the NBA in 2010, Rodriguez is coming back after a stellar overseas campaign, winning Euroleague MVP honors in 2014 and 40 percent shooting from the FIBA three-point line since 2013. Rodriguez offers an upgrade over Isaiah Canaan and T.J. McConnell, but the Simmons injury thrusts him into a role right off the bat that may be too hefty at age 30.

This all isn’t to say Philadelphia will reach even league-average offensively this season. They’re still lopsided up front and a lot of players need to mesh. But the roster makes for a major step forward, from historically bad to acceptably bad (and a reason for a possible uptick in league-average offensive efficiency). Embiid represents a potential force in the paint, stretchy power forwards could emerge, and there’s finally some talent on the wings and at point guard, where sub-replacement level players once logged major minutes. The remnants of the Hinkie era like Covington, Grant, and Hollis Thompson will be in better-suited roles going forward.

Like any other bad team each season, the Sixers are bound to go through several struggles once again, but it should be a far cry from what happened in the past. A leap from 10 wins in 2016 to the low-20s in 2017 is realistic, and part of that is just from having a functional offense.

Everyone Loves Raymond

By Dan Favale (@danfavale)

Zero. That’s the number of games Joel Embiid has played since being drafted third overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2014.

Zero also happens to be the number of craps you should give about this seemingly severe, if damning, tidbit.

Sure, in the grand scheme of things, it matters — a great deal, actually. He’s had screws in his foot. He has a brief history of back problems. You, whoever you are, probably picked up a basketball before he did; you’re just not as tall or athletic or overall physically gifted. Though Embiid will be categorized as a rookie this season, he is technically in his third year, with little to nothing to show for his time “in” the NBA, and will, as such, be measured against the dreaded bust label quicker than most official newbies.

But Embiid has a redeeming quality, one that overshadows his inexperience and injury-infested health bill — an easy-going, fun-having, joke-adoring, child-esque personality that makes him impossible not to like or pull for. He isn’t just the most amiable player on the Sixers; he’s one of the most genial, wholeheartedly goofy players in the league, bar none.

It was Embiid who, immediately after getting drafted, recruited then-free agent LeBron James to the Sixers, in jest, via Twitter, on multiple occasions. It was him who predicted his own future MVP award at the expense of that same LeBron. It was him who, both shamelessly and sheepishly, courted Rihanna and Kim Kardashian on The Twitter Machine.

It was him who wasted little time, not even two months, before trolling teammate — and, I guess, fellow rookie — Ben Simmons, #Harambe-style. It was him who started recruiting Kevin Durant on Twitter before free agency even started. It was him who hyped up his own return months before Philly opened training camp.

Now, with his Sixers tenure really under way, it’s him giving shoutouts to former general manager/team president/author of Philly’s much-maligned Process Sam Hinkie; taunting Nerlens Noel at the foul line; talking about playing point guard; and declaring he’ll have a longer career than Tim Duncan.

Looking at Embiid, who now stands a towering 7-2, with the meticulously sculpted physique of someone who would never overdo it on alcohol-dry, sugar-soaked Shirley Temples, it’s easy to forget that he’s basically acting his age.

At 22, he should only just be entering his senior year of college. So his behavior is not unique to his age bracket. It’s uncharacteristic of an NBA player, particularly a high-profile neophyte, because it’s so genuine, and goofy, and blissfully, organically unguarded.

Embiid, it seems, doesn’t care for the cliched cautiousness and tired tedium expected of mainstream athletes. We like to pretend social media has shattered the barrier between athlete and media-fans, as if growing popularity automatically equates to unprecedented access and defaulted candor. But the way many players carry themselves on social media is contrived—planned personas that pander to myopic perceptions of what constitutes acceptable behavior from professional athletes. Some use Twitter, Instagram, etc. strictly as a promotional tool. Others saturate their timelines with admirable, albeit sometimes forced, interactions with fans and followers. Certain players chime in on social media infrequently, offering the occasional joke or response to a headlining event in sports or the real world. Only semi-recently have big names started using Twitter, Instagram and the like to inspire social change or display more profound opinions.

This is where Embiid breaks the mold. His Twitter timeline, specifically, is a farce. You won’t find too much severity. It’s mostly humor and satire. But it’s neither forced nor invented. It is real, or at the very least feels like it.

Some of what he has done — soliciting responses from female celebrities — could be frowned upon. But even at his most controversial, Embiid is above reproach, because you get the sense he means no harm; every update, whatever it entails, is parodic or wholly innocuous.

And that’s the brilliance of Embiid. He is one of the few players to tear down the wall isolating athletes’ real-life characters from their admirers and pundits. You get the sense that even if the cameras weren’t rolling, even if he wasn’t in the NBA, even if his Twitter and Instagram following failed to creep above four figures, let alone into six-figure territory, he would be acting the exact same way, tweeting and instagramming and saying the exact same shit.

Granted, Embiid is subject to bonus appreciation. It’s easier to become enamored with unbridled humor than staidness, however authentic, because, well, it just is. Smart people laud those who speak out against social injustices; they more readily relate to humor. And the fact that Embiid can, ostensibly, remain this upbeat despite recurring injury woes, despite Philly’s incessant losing and, more valiantly, despite the death of his younger brother, Arthur, mere months after he was drafted is incredible — gut and grit in the form of levity.

So here’s to Joel Embiid, being Joel Embiid: naturally, spectacularly, unequivocally likable.

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Boy Meets World

By Cole Zwicker (@colezwicker)

At the crossroads of the seemingly never-ending process of accumulating franchise level blue chip talent to contend for a title, all eyes are on the next step in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, this seemingly snake-bitten franchise was delivered another blow, as rookie No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons sustained a foot injury that could keep him out for the entire season, a status Philly fans are all too familiar with. While Simmons’ status will consume the headlines, the debut of “third-year” five man Joel Embiid might amass even greater attention.

A potential blue chip franchise cornerstone as a playmaking-5 unicorn, Embiid is one of the two pillars who could convert the process to its intended contending glory. The early preseason returns look promising outside of a heart-stopping knee-buckle. Embiid looks more mobile and less laboring running the court than expected, while showing all the traits that made him a franchise talent coming out of Kansas. His space defense in recovery situations and rim protection have been encouraging, as has his offensive skills as a shooter and playmaker out of the post. He’s a natural on the court given his advanced feel and lack of experience, though he does have to work on his facilitating out of hard double teams. The sky is truly the limit for this generational seven-footer, with his biggest adversaries this year being personnel fit and injury variance.

Simmons’ franchise player potential shouldn’t fall out of sight out of mind, because the ceiling outcome is simply too high. Armed with a generational blend of size, vision and handling ability, Simmons is the best of his positional make to come out of the draft since LeBron. He doesn’t have near LeBron’s vertical athleticism or general explosiveness, but the size and passing combination is there. Simply put, there are few wing two-way primary initiators that come into the league; meaning, the ability to handle the ball and basically the entire playmaking burden. Right now there is only one, LeBron, and maybe two if Giannis gets there. Simmons can be that player with improved shooting and finishing around the rim on non-dunks. His defensive concerns were overblown, especially when paired next to Embiid’s rim protection. He’s an elite lateral slider in space when engaged with incredibly fast hands and switching potential, rendering him fully capable of manning the 4 spot. If he can shoot it well enough and make those running floaters that irritate the hell out of me personally, he’ll be a top 10 NBA player.

Croatian playmaking-4 Dario Saric stands to gain most from Simmons being sidelined. Originally projected start at small forward where his lack of foot speed and athleticism would be a tough sell tracking more agile wing operators, Saric now slides into the vacated power forward position, where his incredible passing on the move and modest tools can be better utilized offensively attacking closeouts against inferior lateral athletes. The early returns on Saric’s three-point shot have been positive, and if he can knock down threes in the 38 percent range, unlocking his drive and playmaking game in the process, he has the look of a long-term starting caliber player. His unique passing ability and feel can’t be overstated.

Noel and Okafor will vie for backup minutes with the inescapable truth being that at least one and probably both with be moved at some point in the foreseeable future. Okafor can thrive as an elite bucket-getter off the bench, beating up inferior defenders inside on high post usage and in less playing time. All eyes will be on his defense, and whether his awareness level improves given he has the length to not be a sizable minus on that end. As for Noel, we know he can defend, as one of the most athletic and agile fives in the game. The problem with him is his worst case fit scenario in Okafor is likely to be his counterpart off the bench, limiting his space to dive to the rim. Noel is playing for a new contract, and is eligible for an extension through 10/31, which is definitely a date to bookmark at the season grows nearer.

Robert Covington and rookie 24th overall pick Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot round out Philly’s collection of young talent. Both actually have projectable roles on this team long-term, sliding in next to the Sixers’ two franchise players. Covington is a 3-and-D versatile wing capable, of guarding bigger wings on defense and spacing the floor effectively on offense. How high the meter rises in regards to his behind the arc marksmanship will dictate Covington’s starter status. Luwawu-Cabarrot, a potential 3-and-D wing with some playmaking upside and the athleticism to guard opposing ones at the point of attack seemingly forgot how to dribble in summer league, just around the time the “Cabarrot” part of his name was discovered. He’ll likely spend significant time in the D-League until he adjusts to the speed of the game and playing against superior athletes. At his ceiling, he is someone who can (similar to Covington) play a complimentary role to Simmons and Embiid long-term with his spot up shooting and defensive range.

Overall, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Philly fans for the first time with Embiid’s return. The roster still doesn’t make sense from a fit standpoint, as it wasn’t meant to. An actually conducive Luwawu/Covington/Simmons/Embiid starting lineup core with Saric off the bench looks to be taking shape, with another likely top 3 or 4 pick in a loaded lead guard class potentially joining in. This season is almost solely about Embiid and Simmons however, with a secondary emphasis on what new GM Bryan Colangelo can extract for Noel and/or Okafor not working from a position of leverage.