[SlickBouncePassParticipant]

 This should help with the "who to draft" scenarios.

PG:  Bayless, McConnell

SG:  Henderson, Luwawu-Cabarrot, Justin Anderson, Stauskas, Korkmaz

SF:  Covington, 

PF: Simmons, Saric

C: Embiid, Okafor, Holmes, Splitter

 

PG: Bayless has 2 more years at 9.8 million, has a good stroke, will be healthy going into this year, so I see him staying and helping with playoff push with ability to play off Simmons.  McConnell is a fan favorite, great assist to turnover ratio.  A natural fit for the system.  Will run second unit, don’t see him being a junk minutes kind of guy.  If he continues to play his butt off and you can get value, I see him possibly being traded. KEEP: Bayless, TJ.

SG:  Henderson has 1 year at 9 million and I hope they eat it and release him.  Justin Anderson does everything Henderson does (besides a nice midrange turnaround), I just think Henderson is dead weight and his leadership isn’t necessary.  I’d package him in a trade or just release Henderson.  Stauskas or Korkmaz.  Stauskas would be my 4th rated SG left on the roster so if there’s a spot for him I’d keep him.  Otherwise, Anderson, TLC (who needs to get stronger), and the enigma of Furkan Korkmaz.  Korkmaz may need to spend a year in the D-league, while we keep Stauskas for 1 more year and a playoff run.  Stauskas is a Free Agent so its likely bye bye.  KEEP: Anderson, TLC, Korkmaz, possibly Stauskas.

SF:  Covington, and thats it.  Yes, Anderson is probably more SF than a SG.  Covington has 1 year on his contract.  His defense is key.  Resign.

PF:  Simmons and Saric are keepers.  I don’t consider either of them to be great rebounders.  Neither is a new era "stretch 4".  They are both playmakers, but neither strong rebounders or shooters, so they are interesting.  I’d like to try Richuan Holmes at PF when you need to go big like against OKC.  

C: I honestly don’t think Okafor is bad in a backup role.  It could be worse.  He’s not a problem, I see him sharing minutes and pounding smaller teams without bigs.  I like Splitter but he’s a FA, but I might consider resigning him as a veteran if Holmes is a capable PF.

So here’s what I’m thinking:

PG: Bayless, McConnell

SG: TLC, Korkmaz, Stauskas, with Anderson as your defender against bigger guards.

SF: Covington, Anderson

PF: Simmons, Saric, Holmes

C: Embiid, Okafor, Splitter

Thats 13, have space for two rookies, or keep Henderson and put Korkmaz in the D-league. 

 

So assuming Henderson is gone and Stauskas resigns at a reasonable price…what are this team’s NEEDS?

They need a guard that can slash, score, and spread the floor.  They have no guards that can do this now.  Fultz, Ball, Smith, Ntilikina, and Fox are all viable options here.  Unless they sign Kyle Lowry.  

They need more depth at SF:  Jackson, Isaac, or Tatum can help back up Covington for now.  I see Justin Anderson as an energy guy but would like a SF that can drive and score his own bucket.  There will be times when a bailout bucket is required.

Shooting:  Stauskas is an okay shooter.  TLC is showing promise he’ll be really good in two or three years.  Korkmaz is interesting and exciting.  Nobody reliable currently on the roster.  Saric’s shot is hot and cold, same with Anderson.  They need a knock down shooter or two on this roster, the Bob Horry role player type.  I like this kid Jake Layman from Portland a lot, maybe we can work a trade out and send Henderson or Stauskas their way.  

Stretch 4:  Simmons and Saric will eat up the most minutes at this position, but it would be nice to occasionally have a sniper like Ilyasova was for us, at the 4.  I’d like a Ryan Anderson type that we can put out there.  I have been high on Markkanen but if the Sixers get picks this year it’ll be early lottery, and I think you get more with a Monk type player than Markkanen.  I’d look for a sniper with the second round picks.  

FINAL Decision:

address shooting/slashing/spacing with Fultz, Ball, Monk, Smith, or Fox.

I don’t think Jackson, Tatum, or Isaac are going to blow the league away.  They all have things they need to work on.  I’d love Jackson or Isaac if the Lakers pick came over.  But with the only pick I’d have to take a guard that can slash and space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Yeah I think they have their front line guys already with Simmons, Saric, and Embiid and you try to get those guys to play in the same lineup as much as possible, then you have Okafor who is still basically a wild card but whose upside probably isn’t as high as we thought it was.

So, with two picks, yeah, you go with guards. Get Fultz or Ball or Fox. Then get Monk. Or, maybe they are at 1 and 4 then you go with Josh Jackson and hope is he your next 2 guard, then the leftover point guard at 4 — likely Fox.

With their second rounder they can go with big man depth like Motley, Swanigan, or Jordan Bell.  

I don’t think it is a tough pick, maybe if they fall to 5, lose out on the Lakers’ pick and then Jackson AND those point guards have already been picked off. Then I think they should try to trade down and get the Sacto picks — some combo of Monk, Isaac, Markannen, Tatum, and Zach Collins. Although maybe Dennis Smith Jr. is the guy. With Miles Bridges going back then you lose some depth in that 5-15 range. How high can you take Grayson Allen? What if Philly falls to 5 and then trades with the Kings at like 8 and 11 and then one of their second rounders.. do they go with Dennis Smith Jr and Grayson Allen if he comes out?

[SlickBouncePassParticipant]

Smith Jr. will fall to 8.  That win against Duke showed what he is made of, he plays with a boston Isiah Thomas type of pace and he’s more athletic.  But it would be interesting, if they traded down with Sac i’d be happy with Ntilikina and Markkanen.

Again, both address needs and are upgrades, still need a slashing guard.  

Would you trade Saric to Sacramento and grab Markkanen?  

Saric impressed me with his late season improvement, but the guy is like a draft horse.  He plays hard when others don’t.  NBA players are fresh early in the season.  Saric is like an old school 15 round boxer.  I thought the way Orlando labeled him, a hybrid, is accurate.  He was getting outrebounded by guys that were slightly bigger and more athletic than him.  His role as a playmaker on this team is valuable, but we will have Simmons now.  Is the sharpshooting Markkanen more valuable?  

I might consider that, crazy as it seems.  I believe Markkanen was underutilized at Arizona.  With open space I think he’ll be an absolute knock-down shooter, that shot is too pure.  

Fultz, Korkmaz, Markkanen, Simmons, Embiid = death lineup.  

 

 

 

 

 

  

[BeastMode716Participant]

 We’ll see how it works out, if he eventually needs to move to more of a Lebron Point Forward role

But I believe part of the pre-draft interview w/ Simmons agent is that he wants the opportunity to run the point in the traditional PG role. A big reason LSU was not successful was b/c the coach refused to put the ball in Simmons hands as the primary initiator / decision maker (and his stats were Still insane).

Sixers coach Brett Brown just did an interview w/ NBA journalist Adrian Wojnarowski on his Vertical podcast & Brown insisted that Simmons IS the starting PG. He’s not going to guard the PG at the Def end b/c Simmons is such an elite level rebounder but Brown was Very confident in Simmons abilities.

And Brown’s confidence comes from Simmons completing a Full training camp as the PG last October. I remember at the time Brown claiming the Simmons was the Best player on the court during training camp & at the time I did not think much of it b/c None of believed Joel EMbiid was going to This good This fast but not that statement really holds weight.

 Charles Barkely on the TNT network this year said he stopped in Sixers training camp & watched practices b/c I guess he lives not far or whatever but in Barkley’s words "Simmons & Embiid at the 1 & 5 are Spectakalar!

In terms of the rest of Phila’s roster, I really like their 2nd team, Saric was So much better than I ever realized, I like Holmes, the kid TLC, McConnell & Stauskus are decent role players & that kid Kormaz might come over this year & I Really like that kind of shooting talent on Phila’s roster b/c Embiid & Simmons will Create so much Space, Bayless will be a good fit on the starting 5 as a combo gaurd / 3pt specialist who will defend the opposing pg.

 I Def believe Colangelo will go after a Free Agent (Lowry perhaps) Phila has a Ton of Cap space. And they might go after a big trade depending on where they land in the Lottery & of they get the Lakers pick. If they get say the #2 & #5 picks for example, I can Def see tyhem packaging those two picks & Okafor for Jimmy Butler or PG13 (or at least trying) People still think of Phila as Hinkie’s team & it’s not. I’m not a big Colangelo fan but that dude is no way trying to just build slowly through the Draft. I Def believe they over played Both Simmons & Embiid’s injuries & shut them down to make sure they are 100% rested & healthy for next season. Did they Really need to see anything more out of Embiid to know that he Is your key piece along w/ Simmons on which to build.

This Phila team will be the Milwaukee Bucks of the 2017/18′ season. I Luv Brett Brown as the coach & I think this team will be over .500 next year & in the playoffs

 

 

  

 

 

[binetParticipant]

 Simmons is definitely playing PG, and if not the way you build around him make you consider him a PG because he won’t play alongside TJ McConnell or Sergio Rodriguez a priori. He won’t guard PGs most of the time but who cares: Steph Curry almost never guards opposing PGs either : defense is not about positions, it’s positionless in today’s nba and it’s the side of the court where you "hide" players, Simmons defensive matchups are not really a concern when he is playing most of his minutes alongside Covington anyway.

Right now, the roster before draft/free agency looks more like :

PG: Simmons, Mc Connell.

SG: Bayless, Luwawu, Stauskas, (Henderson) // Henderson is under team option

SF: Covington, Anderson

PF: Saric, (Long, Poythress) // Long and Poythress are possible two-way contracts, if not they probably do not make the team.

C:Embiid, Okafor, Holmes

Given Furkan is a SG and the team explicitely talked about Bayless, Luwawu and Stauskas as significant pieces for next year in interviews, he is probably not coming over next year, especially considering the team already has almost too many young pieces to develop.

Henderson’s case is similar yet lot of lineups could go small with Luwawu or him at the 3 spot so he could be kept around, especially given he had a decent year and seem to be fine with his veteran role on this team. My guess is that if the sixers spend a top 8 pick in the draft for a guard he definitely leaves, same goes if the sixers get a key free agent guard, or a key guard via trade.

Rodriguez’s case is different. given the team only has 2 "PGs" (I just can’t call Bayless, a career 7.2 ast% player; a PG), they could very well sign him as the third string point. That should depend on how much he would ask in terms of money and again, who the sixers draft. His fit with Bayless is a big concern though, the team should prefer a third PG that can play with Bayless, or with either Bayless or Simmons (top draft picks Fultz, Ball and Ntilikina fit to play with either of them as big PGs able to play off the ball and catch-and-shoot).

Okafor is getting traded allegedly. Bryan Colangelo’s comments about how his agent wants him to play in a team without Joel Embiid, Okafor not fitting Brown’s system, fans hating him, etc…makes it pretty clear. Given the roster depth chart, he would ideally be traded for a combo PF/C player or PF/SF player. If he is still worth a mid-first round pick (which is hard to assess right now), trading him for a pick that could end up being Harry Giles (PF/C role, high upside gamble) or OG Anunoby (PF/SF role) would be interesting.

The team primary need is probably to find a perfect starting SG. Bayless role should be off-the-bench. If they seek him via draft, that means someone between Fultz, Ball, Ntilikina and Monk presumably. Ntilikina seems a few years away to really contribute and start. Monk is not talented enough to be picked in the top 5, and his fit with Ben Simmons is questionnable imo defensively (I don’t think he can guard anybody on the perimeter, if he plays alongside Simmons and Saric, the team is presumably in trouble). My guess is they should try very hard to get Fultz, maybe packaging various assets (both their pick and the Lakers pick?) to get him. If they choose to draft on another position, George Hill is probably the only free agent relevant for their roster, and I don’t see him sign there.

The team’s depth chart at PF is concerning, and Justin Anderson is not good enough to be your second SF as of right now. They should probably draft or sign in FA a "small ball 4" player. It’s important not to draft a strict PF though given Ben Simmons positionning defensively and uptempo playstyle. Of course, drafting among Jackson, Tatum or Isaac could be the solution. Free Agency there is interesting with names like Otto Porter, Danilo Gallinari, Rudy Gay, all intriguing fits.The team should want to keep Covington and Dario as starters though so it might be tough to bring one of these big names or to resign Covington at a salary under what these guy would get given he is presumably going to start over them. Some trade option there could solve things there as well. Sixers could get an overpaid salary dump there in an Okafor trade (Okafor to the Hornets for their 2017 pick and Marvin Williams?). Cheaper options like Jonas Jerebko could also be targeted.

Sixers also have plenty of secound rounders. They will very likely spend 2 of them on 2 way contracters that should be Centers, insurance policy given their recurrent health issues with Embiid and Okafor. Given who should fall in this draft there should be some intriguing guys like Adebayo, Anigbogu, Swanigan falling into the secound round. They should spend the other 2 picks on stash&dash prospects or trade them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 Simmons we assume is still the long term ball handler – which position he actually does this from on court we don’t know and also where he will play on defence needs to be sorted. I think that him and Saric can play in the same 5 and one of them can guard opposition SF.

We hear all this talk about how Simmons cannot guard opposition PGs but how would a 6ft 3ins PG guard Simmons, the opposition will need to put a bigger man on him thus giving Philly a potential size mismatch elsewhere.

One guy who I could see Philly looking at is Fox, he’s a quick – steal waiting to happen type player who could be used to guard the opposition PG and even if Simmons is ball carrier – Fox’s speed off ball would be a nightmare as you’d need to counter Embeast in the paint. This would allow Fox to use his speed to find openings for shots or he creates so much distraction that the likes of Saric or the SG can get easier shots.

Also having two ball carriers on a team gives options especially when one is on the bench.

 

 

 

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