Unfortunately, Sam Hinkie is in a position to fail.  There is no other way to look at it.  He is a smart guy, but he isn’t that smart.  The Eastern Conference was underwhelming this year, but in the NBA things go in cycles.  Over the next 4 years, there is no realistic way for the 76ers franchise to taste the kind of success that the fans of the organization are clamoring for.

The 76ers cupboard is bare, similar to the Eagles, Phillies and Flyers.  The only thing more disappointing than what is going to happen the next few years is the shock and confusion over what is plain to see for the trained basketball eye.

After the jump, I’ll go ahead and rank how the franchises in the Eastern Conference will perform over the next 4 years.  The criteria involves a wide range of elements — Championship Equity, Room to Improve, Salary Cap Factors and Fan Expectations, etc.

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After Sam Hinkie spent a lovely week in Chicago evaluating the prospects who were invited to participate in the 2013 NBA Draft combine, Philadunkia nation has had Cody Zeller shoved down their throats.  A number of draft “experts” are predicting the 76ers will select Zeller in late June.  Additionally, Philly.com reported that the Sixers interviewed the sophomore big man out of Indiana and that the conversation went swimmingly.

Whether Zeller is available when the Sixers first round pick arrives and whether they select him largely depends on three factors:

1)  Will Zeller still be available at #11.

2)  Do the 76ers like other players more than Zeller.

3)  What pick the Sixers draw in tonight’s NBA Draft Lottery.

Based off of the combine’s results and reactions, there seems to be a decent level of talent in the first ten picks and then a there is a drop off.  One prospect that is on the rise after the Chicago combine is France’s Rudy Gobert.  Gobert with his 7-9 wingspan and impressive shooting touch, really impressed the NBA scouts and front office types and appears to be moving up draft boards.  If Gobert continues to wow scouts during individual workouts and other pre-draft camps, he may crack the Top 10.  Gobert is another name that has been linked to the Sixers by draft “experts”.

So, can the 76ers move up in 2013 Draft and grab Zeller or Gobert?

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The Sixers need a scorer.  It seems like a pretty simple sentiment.  In fact, there will be those that criticize this post as being too simplistic.

“Of course, every team could use a scorer.”

“We want a name!”

The point of this post isn’t to postulate about potential players, but rather to point out a decade long problem.

The Sixers have not had a legitimate go-to-guy since Allen Iverson was shipped to Denver, which happens to be about the same time that the franchise’s success stalled.

This is not a coincidence.

Every team that has found extreme success in the NBA over the past decade plus (Heat, Mavs, Lakers, Spurs, Celtics) have a clearly defined go-to-guy.  This is also not a coincidence.  The best NBA teams are well-structured and well-rounded, as a one man show rarely makes it very far (save for an ’01 Iverson and an ’07 LeBron James).

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The Sixers have been abandoned again.  It was another three seasons of wasted basketball instead of moving closer to the ultimate goal of a championship.  There were risks taken, hearts broken and blood vessels busted.

Yet, taking a trip down memory lane, what if I told you that the Sixers’ woes began way before the Andrew Bynum trade last summer?  What if I told you that if the Sixers had just taken my advice that they’d be in the hunt for an NBA Championship right now as you’re reading this?

Without tooting my own horn too much, I’ll just let you see for yourself…
http://philadunkia.com/?p=263

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Few could have imagined the season turned out the way it did.  The 76ers were supposed to be this, that and the other thing.  What came to pass was the realization that this past summer was one of the uglier summers in NBA history.  

Now the Sixers are a team left with holes larger than just the void in the middle cause by Andrew Bynum’s knees.  As I have mentioned ad nauseum, the 76ers are in a very bad place going forward with no clear path to anything.  

After the jump, are some trade possibilities that can be a change for the better next year or the long run.  The premise is to do all of these trades or none at all.  Part 1 will be for the future, “Hello, 25% shot at Andrew Wiggins and the return of the Anti-Gravity Treadmill”.  Part 2 will assume the future is now

On last note, while the ESPN.com trade machine says the salaries don’t work, once Jrue’s $9.2 million salary kicks in, these trades would work.

 
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On Saturday the 76ers announced that have acquired a D-League franchise and will move it Delaware…Ladies and gentlemen please welcome your Delaware 87ers…Wait, what?  It’s not a misprint.

Brian at depressedfan.com is not very excited about the D-League announcement.

A quick “76ers” search on craigslist brings back this signed gem from the 1983 team.

Dei Lynam at csnphilly.com reported that the Sixers have contacted Pacers assistant coach Brian Shaw.

nbadraft.net has the Sixers selecting 11th in the 2013 Draft and picking Giannis Adetokoubo who plays in Greece.  Check out the video of this 6-9 kid.  I’ve seen bigger crowds at Chester vs. Lower Merion district playoff games.

Hoops Habit predicts the Sixers will grab Glenn Robinson III with the 11th pick in 2013.

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Growing up in the late 90s and early 00s, I developed an affinity for the Cartoon Network program, Ed, Edd n Eddy. The animated show featured three boys who wrecked havoc on their parents and really just lived their daily lives in their cul-de-sac kooky pandemonium.

Thus, when the 76ers, who were then led by Chairman Ed Snider and General Manager Ed Stefanski, fired former head coach Eddie Jordan, I wrote a crafty blog post that constructed a conspiracy on how Ed Stefanski and Eddie Jordan in 2010 (who had been friends from their days with the New Jersey Nets) worked to derail this dilapidated organization.

Now, looking back on my adolescence, and knowing what I now know about the NBA, I realize that the only legitimate conspiracies in the League only involve officiating and injuries.  However, I still truthfully believe that the Ed, Ed and Eddie era of the Sixers set back this organization to where they are now.

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All good things must come to an end.

But, unfortunately for the 76ers organization and its fans, their immaculate 2012-2013 season came to an end before it ever began.

In August, the Sixers introduced their addition of Andrew Bynum — and, oh yeah, Jason Richardson — at the Constitution Center in front of a raucous crowd.  But, before Bynum could even get through hinting at signing a 5-year max extension, he stopped in his tracks.

Then, as all of Philadunkia was imagining Bynum backing down the likes of Roy Hibbert, Joakim Noah and Tyson Chandler before turning them into a poster, the team announced that Bynum would be undergoing surgery on his knees and going to Germany.

We all know he would go on to never suit up in a Sixers uniform outside of a photo shoot.  We all know he participated in less practices than his jersey number, 33.  We all remember his parade of ridiculous hairdos and his romantic long walks on a freakishly expensive anti-gravity treadmill.  His season, and maybe his career in Philly, was over before it even had a chance to commence.

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Heading into tonight’s game, the 76ers face a Washington Wizards team that has a similar record and future outlook going forward, if you are only looking at things on the surface.  

As you peek down the rabbit hole, that judgement seems wrong.  It also depends on how you are looking at things as well as your opinion on what you want out of a bright future.  

Since it seems obvious that the 76ers aren’t going to tank in 2013-14 for Wiggins, there is no doubt that Washington is right now in a better place than the 76ers.

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