{"id":76827,"date":"2015-05-28T12:39:47","date_gmt":"2015-05-28T12:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=76827"},"modified":"2015-05-28T12:42:08","modified_gmt":"2015-05-28T12:42:08","slug":"sportstalk-shop-nba-draft-preview-76ers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-nba-draft-preview-76ers\/","title":{"rendered":"The SportsTalk Shop:  NBA Draft Preview &#8211; 76ers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Over the next couple of weeks we\u2019ll take a look at the two NBA teams in the RCN viewing area and how they\u2019ll approach this year\u2019s NBA Draft, which will commence on June 25.<\/p>\n<p>Today, a look at your <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nba.com\/sixers\/\">Philadelphia 76ers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>#1:\u00a0 \u201cThe #3 Pick Wasn\u2019t That Bad\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI know fans of \u201cthe tank\u201d were hoping the franchise\u2019s record losses would result in a mammoth takeover by the Sixers in this year\u2019s draft.\u00a0 (The \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/onesixeleven\">#OneSixEleven<\/a>\u201d movement was trending before the lottery got underway last week).\u00a0 However, the main objective of the team doing so poorly over the last few years is to secure marquee names.\u00a0 In my opinion, there are really only three of these available in this year\u2019s draft class (sorry, I\u2019m not buying into the whole Emmanel Mudiay frenzy).\u00a0 It looks as though D\u2019Angelo Russell will be the most probable player left over after the number-one (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nba.com\/timberwolves\/\">Timberwolves<\/a>) and the number-two (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nba.com\/lakers\/\">Lakers<\/a>, as of now) picks are selected.\u00a0 Adding a second (not likely) or even a third (barely even conceivable) top 11 pick would have shifted the Sixers\u2019 rebuild into overdrive.\u00a0 However, it is far more important to the philosophy in place that they gather another major name now, and then fill in with several above-average players in future years, either through future picks and\/or trades\/free agency.\u00a0 In fact, I think it was more beneficial for Philadelphia to have picked up one of the three best college players in the country, rather than get two picks\u00a0 beyond the top three or four selections.\u00a0 Ignoring the pie-in-the-sky options and given the odds and the criteria of the NBA lottery, I think Sixers fans should be very happy with their team\u2019s outcome with a number-three selection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>#2 \u201cThe MCW Trade Worked Out After All\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nRegardless of whether you prefer Russell or Mudiay, the 76ers should be getting a premiere guard who can play either the \u2018one\u2019 and \u2018two\u2019 spot on the floor.\u00a0 While the trade of last year\u2019s Rookie of the Year initially rattled the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/inhinkiewetrust\">#InHinkieWeTrust<\/a>\u201d fan base, dealing Michael Carter-Williams is now looking like a very smart deal.\u00a0 The 76ers will get their front-line perimeter player to go along with their bigs (Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and eventually Dario Saric) inside.\u00a0 Eventually, Philadelphia will also get an additional first round pick (a 1-3 protected pick in 2016 and 2017, unprotected in 2018), which can enhance the team\u2019s roster.\u00a0 They also unloaded a player who will probably never have as much trade value as he had this past season, without really losing out on a few months of MCW\u2019s services in what was a meaningless season anyway.\u00a0 The team can look to take its first significant step forward in this rebuilding process, as long as they abide by point #3.<\/p>\n<p><strong>#3\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t You DARE Trade THIS Pick\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nAt a time when the Philadelphia sports fans\u2019 patience is being stretched beyond its reasonable limits, the Sixers fans have tolerated, if not embraced, the \u201cTogether We Tank\u201d theory.\u00a0 Record-setting losing streaks have not jettisoned the fan base.\u00a0 In fact, I\u2019ve seen a resurgence in 76ers fans\u2019 passion lately, seemingly (and strangely) invigorated by the losing.\u00a0 After weathering some minor drama following the MCW deal, the fans have continued to support the team despite radical decisions and some insane comments by the 76ers\u2019 front office (don\u2019t even get me started on the multiple reports of Sixers CEO Scott O\u2019Neil\u2019s \u201cFerraris in the driveway\u201d abomination).<\/p>\n<p>However, if Philadelphia passes up this opportunity to get a major name, whether it be Russell, Mudiay, Jahlil Okafor or even Karl-Anthony Towns, this region will boil over with disgust.\u00a0 The prospect of another full season of NBA D-League retreads occupying a majority of roster spots without a prominent name to join Noel and Embiid to start the season would destroy all the positive mojo that has been building over the last couple of seasons.\u00a0 Public opinion (not to mention Head Coach Brett Brown) would rail against this regime if they trade away their highly placed pick this time around.\u00a0 The 76ers made out well in the numbers game with the lottery, and have put themselves in a situation that would make it nearly impossible to NOT improve for the 2015-16 season.\u00a0 A \u201ctrade down\u201d would, at best, slow down the resurgence, and it could take years (and maybe millions of free agent dollars) to get a starting guard at the caliber available to them.\u00a0 After several questionable, albeit seemingly positive moves, an incorrect decision leading up to June 25 could be disastrous for both the short-term and long-term goals of the organization.<\/p>\n<p>Who do you think the 76ers should draft with their number three pick\u2026and do you think, if Towns or Okafor become available, Philadelphia should pick up another \u2018big\u2019 and then swing a deal for a guard?\u00a0 Email us your sports opinions anytime at <a href=\"mailto:RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com\">RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com<\/a> and tune into our next live \u201cSportsTalk\u201d show, on Thursday, June 4<sup>th<\/sup> at 7pm.<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the next couple of weeks we\u2019ll take a look at the two NBA teams in the RCN viewing area and how they\u2019ll approach this year\u2019s NBA Draft, which will commence on June 25. Today, a look at your Philadelphia 76ers. #1:\u00a0 \u201cThe #3 Pick Wasn\u2019t That Bad\u201d I know fans of \u201cthe tank\u201d were&#8230;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,5],"tags":[7],"class_list":["post-76827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-sports","category-the-sportstalk-shop","tag-76ers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The SportsTalk Shop: NBA Draft Preview - 76ers - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-nba-draft-preview-76ers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The SportsTalk Shop: NBA Draft Preview - 76ers - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Over the next couple of weeks we\u2019ll take a look at the two NBA teams in the RCN viewing area and how they\u2019ll approach this year\u2019s NBA Draft, which will commence on June 25. 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