Sixers 2017 Offseason

[Dirk41]

Good point, but the Sixers still drafted Big Jah with Noel and Embiid on the roster. Total different organizational position, though. If Fultz is the prospect demanding of Retweet Armageddon, no one should pass on him. The Sixers-Celtics games next year will be fantastic, that's for sure.

[bigegypt0417]

Breaking: Lakers trade D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to Nets for Brook Lopez and 27th pick, per @WojVerticalNBA https://t.co/d9OojXQdKb

The Lakers are bad...

[bkeich]

Among the oddities of this trade is that now it becomes very difficult to think about what to root for as far as picks:

Do you hope the Lakers do get Paul George and get much better so the pick to does not go to Boston next year.
Do you hope the Lakers crash and burn and get the 2nd - 5th pick and we are done with the issue.
Do you hope the Lakers really crash and burn and win the lottery and we get the #1 pick from them (obviously).
Do you hope the Lakers get better and the Kings and Sixers get really good and 2019 and hte Celtics get a pick around #20.

I guess the last one, but honestly there is a pretty good chance the Kings are going to be terrible for awhile.

[LegoDoom]

I agree that it's a good deal for the Nets (and a deal that I wish the Sixers would have looked into), but a Lakers roster of Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Paul George, and whatever big FA they will sign will not be a bad roster a year from now.

Also, with the recent articles about Russell, I think the Lakers were looking to cut bait.

[bkeich]

No. 1 Pick looking much better... wow, that is just an amazingly awful trade. I guess Magic was good at dribbling a basketball.

[LegoDoom]

I hope for the last one, but I never wanted to have the Kings pick included in the deal because I didn't think the Lakers pick would be that bad as they have no reason to tank and could add one good FA and be much better next year.

If the price is low to get Paul George, any thoughts of the Sixers trading for him in order to block the Lakers? It would preserve the Sixers #1 equity and at the very least keep the Lakers in the lottery range.

[LegoDoom]

I don't agree with that. Russell was not very good and swapping him out for Paul George would be a huge improvement for the Lakers (and the fact that the Lakers have no reason to tank, like they were obviously doing last season).

That being said, I wish the Sixers would have looked into similar deal and taken the chance that Russell could improve (he's still really young). Especially if a move to SG would spark that improvement.

I think the Lakers are going to add a few pieces (maybe even George) in order to add a few big FAs next season.

[Austinfan]

Of course when George signs his big Laker deal, he'll be 29 in 2018-19.
Which would be fine if they were one piece away, but by the time they add enough talent he'll be on the downhill slope of his career.

[LegoDoom]

George is most likely going to be traded to the Lakers this offseason. The Lakers are clearing out cap space so that they can sign someone alongside George next season (Lebron, Westbrook, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, etc).

A Lopez, George, Ingram, and Ball lineup (at the very least) is not going to lose nearly as many games as they did last season. This is part of the reason I wanted the Lakers pick to convey this season.

[phillychuck]

It did convey this season, in the form of 50% of Markelle Fultz.

[LegoDoom]

How is it 50%? What percentage of the time to you think the Lakers pick in the 2-5 range next year?

Boston structured the deal as they thought that either the Lakers pick or the Kings pick would be a top-5 pick. They were worried, justifiably so, that the Lakers would not tank next season and wanted some protection to still get a top pick, which is why the weird protection in order for the Kings pick to convey.

If the Lakers add Paul George this year, then you can forget the #1 pick equity next year and may even forget a top-10 pick next year. That leaves the Sixers with a 10+ pick next year and missing the Kings pick the year after (unless it is #1).

[phillychuck]

OK, you pick the percentage. Sac pick is no sure thing with two good lottery picks this season and a decent nucleus already there.

[LegoDoom]

I'll pick the percentage when you name the good nucleus that Sacramento already has.

[phillychuck]

Begin with Buddy Heild, future all-star.

Seriously, they played reasonably well after they traded Cousins. #5 and #10 could really help them in a year or so. (Monk/Fox and Markannen?). West is tough, but they have some decent players.

[LegoDoom]

I'll say a lineup featuring Lopez, George, Ingram, and Ball will win at least 30 games at the very low end. If you project that out from last year, it's the #6 pick.

Considering that 50% of Fultz is the Sixers #3 pick this year, you are saying that the Lakers pick will convey 100% of the time next year?

And that is not even taking into account the loss of value of future picks. Certainly the #1 pick this year is not worth as much as the #1 pick next year (not taking into account the weighting of draft prospect values).

[LegoDoom]

I would have begun with Willie Cauley Stein or Skai Labissiere. I'm actually not sure what Rudy Gay's status is. I wouldn't begin with Heild, who seems terrible for an older draftee (although played better with the Kings after the trade).

Still, WCS, Skai, #5, and #10 are all still too young to really big huge difference makers. It's not like they're in the middle of a rebuild. They traded away their big trade piece for not a whole lot.

[phillychuck]

I need to work on my sarcasm/humor as it appears to have fallen flat here. I don't think Buddy is a future all-star.

Cauley-Stein has a lot of decent moments. They have 4 or 5 other decent players, all of whom played better without Cousins.

I'm just not concerned about the LA pick any more. It conveyed its value to us since is served as part of the trade for #1. None of us knows how much Ainge valued it, so my 50% was just spitballing silliness.

[LegoDoom]

I need to work on my sarcasm/humor as it appears to have fallen flat here. I don't think Buddy is a future all-star.

No, you're fine. I should have noticed it, but I've read where some people like Buddy.

I'm just not concerned about the LA pick any more. It conveyed its value to us since is served as part of the trade for #1. None of us knows how much Ainge valued it, so my 50% was just spitballing silliness.

The Lakers pick hasn't conveyed yet (the slotting still isn't determined) and I'd really look into a trade to get Paul George for a year rental for the sole purpose of pushing the Lakers pick down further and either keeping him (he'd be a good fit on this roster) or flipping him at some point. I'm not sure if the Sixers can offer more than the Lakers (which I assume is some deal centering around Randle/Clarkson and late 1sts).

[Purduke]

I agree that it's a good deal for the Nets (and a deal that I wish the Sixers would have looked into), but a Lakers roster of Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Paul George, and whatever big FA they will sign will not be a bad roster a year from now.

Also, with the recent articles about Russell, I think the Lakers were looking to cut bait.

Suspect it was also a mattered of clearing Mozdov's contract out this year -- he has 3 years for $48M on his deal still. Lopez's contract is over in 2018 which works with the idea of a big signing in 2018.

Now they need to move either Deng (3 year, $53M still) or Clarkson (3 years, $38M). Don't know what the Lakers were thinking last summer.

[jimbomill]

Fultz, Simmons and Embiid are also really young, with less NBA games experience than WCS, Skai, #5 and #10.