2024-2025 Sixers Season

zambonir 2025-04-14 17:59:05 UTC #643

Well, the team did a good job of not making any news, such as it is, yesterday. Morey and Nurse are both back, and Morey - at least currently - still believes in the Big 3 and thinks he just didn't do a good enough job having younger depth. His spin is that the idea was to have a group of playoff-tested vets but the style of regular-season play favors youth now.

One assumes they will listen on George, maybe Joel too, but easier said then done, and I doubt the owners are ready to admit failure on Joel. Everybody gets one more year.

It's not entirely hopeless if these guys can play, they did certainly manage to fool themselves into thinking that in December/January when the team actually had a couple of runs, but it's rather optimistic to think you can have both a bounce-back season from George and a healthyish Joel, while also hoping McCain isn't hampered by his recovery and expecting another rookie to do a lot (unless it's Flagg).

We shall see but I don't think the "build around Maxey/McCain/youth" year is until 2026-2027. They just can't afford to be stuck in the middle again next year, they either make the playoffs (which, let's face it, won't produce a championship anyway so what's the point really) or need to fail/tank again.

We're basically looking at the 2012 Phillies, Joel is Howard. George is, I guess Roy H except he didn't accomplish anything while on this team first. And both owner and GM is too emotionally and intellectually invested in the core (which also didn't accomplish anything, unlike the Phillies), and unready to tank.

I just assumed Elton Brand would become GM anyway if Morey was sacrificed for PR. I suppose there is a glimmer of hope in the Bob Myers thing but I'm not sure he's actively consulting for the Commanders (he just helped with the two hires last year) and if you were him, what would you say/do with this team?

phillychuck 2025-04-14 18:42:57 UTC #644

If I had complete control over the Sixers right now my moves would be based on enjoying the games as a fan. I would subtly be trying to trade Joel for a haul, hoping he's fully healthy next fall and he's moveable. I'd be trying to get off George entirely, but I wouldn't pay much to do that. I'd be trying to get Drummond and Gordon to decline their options.

Then I would be trying to construct a "team basketball" team from the rest of the assets. I've enjoyed watching Maxey, McCain, Grimes, Edwards, Bona, Yabu, Oubre, even Walker and Dowtin occasionally. Get another 4 or 5 that can play (Flagg if you're really lucky), or get lucky and draft Harper, who has a good chance to be a difference maker, even though he's another guard. use your early second round pick for a 4 or a 5 (good rim-running and rim-protecting bigs are often available then if they can't shoot). Then tell Nurse to coach a team basketball style. If he can't do it, move on.

I want to watch a long, athletic team that hustles, plays defense, and runs. Maxey can be really good in that style.

zambonir 2025-04-14 19:47:02 UTC #645

I don't think Drummond has an option. It's Gordon and Oubre. They will probably trade Drummond. Maybe Gordon too. There's always ways to match up money though I'll admit I don't understand the new apron rules (not that I really understood the old cap stuff either).

You sound like the Sixers version of a Flyers fan, you still love basketball and will watch the team if they can have a likeable and entertaining product. But the message they sent yesterday was, "we owe you seven," and they claim they're actually going to try to win. We'll see.

First they gotta get (and make) the pick. Then they can see about George. To hear him talk, he's not going anywhere, but who knows.

phillychuck 2025-04-14 20:00:53 UTC #646

I like watching entertaining basketball. In a normal season I probably watch all or part of 80-90 Sixers games. Having those games be fun and entertaining is more important than making the finals to me, which I know is a minority opinion. A guard-heavy, hustling, defensive team with the Sixers current players (and whoever they draft) would be fun for me, more fun than watching Joel try to hobble through his injuries. I can take losing in the playoffs if they are playing team basketball. Just can't take a repeat of this year.

zambonir 2025-04-14 20:08:22 UTC #647

That's kind of what we had in Portland for most of the years I lived there (well, not the defense, but they were fun to watch, occasionally would succeed, and never had any chance of winning a championship or even getting players like James Harden or Paul George, which has its charm).

There's one thing that could make this year even worse than it already was - a big Clippers playoff run.

phillychuck 2025-04-14 21:21:24 UTC #648

Drummond has a $5M player option he announced he was picking up yesterday.

Sadly.

zambonir 2025-04-14 21:47:38 UTC #649

Oh, I guess that's why I thought he didn't, because it was already done?

There's a lot of stuff in play including the salary cap ramifications of the draft pick's contract. Will they use their Bird rights on Grimes? Will Yabu take less? Will Oubre really pick up his option or want more?

I reckon one way or another Morey will be squandering some future draft capital, whether to move smaller salaries or in a George deal or both. At least there would be some players coming back in the latter instance. Morey's certainly not bad at making trades or judging talent, when he's not blindly star hunting.

VoteForKalas 2025-04-14 22:08:30 UTC #650

I agree it is rare, but would argue that if the owner wants to win badly enough, it can and has happened.

Look at Jimmy Johnson in Dallas after Jerry bought the team or Belichick in NE for so long under Kraft or even here in PHL with DD and Middleton.

If the owner is willing to hire the right person and get out of the way, it can work well.

zambonir 2025-04-14 22:23:46 UTC #651

Heh, but wasn't Morey actually supposed to be that hire? Harris (and Michael Rubin) coddled Joel and Ben (and Brown gets some blame for the latter too), hired Doc and promoted Elton, then only pivoted when Morey hit the open market.

Honestly as bad as the Sixers were this year, reading about the way both the Memphis and Denver front offices were pulled in multiple directions, and also considering what happened in Dallas, I'd say things could actually be worse, and finding that right person without all of the other stuff really is very rare. Also, the examples you gave above other than the Phillies were coaches, and I think that's probably the secret sauce in the NBA, not a great GM or hands-off owner but a powerful and good enough coach who has the most power and sets the culture of the team - Riley (who stopped coaching forever ago of course), Pop (who has always been above the Spurs GM), Kerr, Stevens (now the GM).

I think Middleton got kind of lucky really. They got turned down by all their candidates, including DD himself, and then things changed in Nashvlle. And for once an old-boy hire - MacPhail and DD were actually close - wasn't wrong.

Anyway, it's all in your first sentence. Harris does not want to win badly enough, and is wholly unable to see his own role in the team's failures and disappointments. I just hope the Commanders fall prey to the same thing, or, if it turns out he learned his lesson there, we see it here.

zambonir 2025-04-18 21:41:02 UTC #652

Got such a Phillies vibe out of seeing this

“You see he’s pretty skilled,” added player development coach T.J. DiLeo, who has worked individually with Grimes since the trade. “ … There’s something in there, but he surprised me a little bit, too.”