Sixers at a Crossroads?

[Moranis]

First Things First was talking about the Sixers.  Wright and Broussard both thought they'd be better off without Harden and that they should go hard after Lillard with Maxey, Harris (for money), and every pick they can trade.  Basically just be an Embiid/Lillard 2 man show and fill in with veterans and young guys.  Not sure that will land Lillard, but Maxey would certainly be one of the better assets the Blazers could get so it isn't totally far fetched.

Of course Morey loves Harden, so I doubt he'd be I terested in that, but it is interesting

[bdm860]

Doc has been fired.

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1658491168047464448?s=46&t=gEvQlnNLbU9ke0xn1kR1YA

[boscel33]

Doc has been fired.

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1658491168047464448?s=46&t=gEvQlnNLbU9ke0xn1kR1YA

Was just coming here to post.  TP for getting it so quickly.  Already rumors flying about Nick Nurse and Monty Williams.

[Phantom255x]

First Things First was talking about the Sixers.  Wright and Broussard both thought they'd be better off without Harden and that they should go hard after Lillard with Maxey, Harris (for money), and every pick they can trade.  Basically just be an Embiid/Lillard 2 man show and fill in with veterans and young guys.  Not sure that will land Lillard, but Maxey would certainly be one of the better assets the Blazers could get so it isn't totally far fetched.

Of course Morey loves Harden, so I doubt he'd be I terested in that, but it is interesting

I mean if they have to give up Maxey to acquire Lillard, then go ahead. Lillard's the better player BUT I'm not sure how that really threads the needle. Their bench is still awful. It was a problem last season too. It's a thin group. What entire group of "veterans/young guys" can they fill it with that's solid. They got Tucker and he hardly helped.

They probably don't have a choice though. Especially if Harden leaves. Sixers are screwed.

[jambr380]

First Things First was talking about the Sixers.  Wright and Broussard both thought they'd be better off without Harden and that they should go hard after Lillard with Maxey, Harris (for money), and every pick they can trade.  Basically just be an Embiid/Lillard 2 man show and fill in with veterans and young guys.  Not sure that will land Lillard, but Maxey would certainly be one of the better assets the Blazers could get so it isn't totally far fetched.

Of course Morey loves Harden, so I doubt he'd be I terested in that, but it is interesting

I mean if they have to give up Maxey to acquire Lillard, then go ahead. Lillard's the better player BUT I'm not sure how that really threads the needle. Their bench is still awful. It was a problem last season too. It's a thin group. What entire group of "veterans/young guys" can they fill it with that's solid. They got Tucker and he hardly helped.

They probably don't have a choice though. Especially if Harden leaves. Sixers are screwed.

Yeah, if Sixers lose Harden (FA), Maxey, and Harris (salary filler) and they only get Lillard in return, then I'm not sure what the plan is. Niang, Reed, Melton, and House are just not going to cut it. I like Lillard, but no way he makes up for the production of the guys they are losing.

[hpantazo]

Firing Doc didn't address their problems and doesn't help any other than maybe trying to convince Harden to stay. So maybe that's their short term plan, convince Harden to stick around and then if he does, see if you can move Maxey and Harris for another star.

In the end, they shouldn't have panicked, they got the best team in their conference, maybe best in the league, to game 7 despite their MVP hobbled throughout the series. 

[liam]

Doc has been fired.

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1658491168047464448?s=46&t=gEvQlnNLbU9ke0xn1kR1YA

Was just coming here to post.  TP for getting it so quickly.  Already rumors flying about Nick Nurse and Monty Williams.

What took so long?

[RJ87]

Firing Doc didn't address their problems and doesn't help any other than maybe trying to convince Harden to stay. So maybe that's their short term plan, convince Harden to stick around and then if he does, see if you can move Maxey and Harris for another star.

In the end, they shouldn't have panicked, they got the best team in their conference, maybe best in the league, to game 7 despite their MVP hobbled throughout the series.

I agree. Doc has his faults, but I don't think this loss is on him. The biggest mistake Doc made was not putting the ball in Maxey's hands more.

James Harden shot them out of game 6 (his decisions down the stretch were questionable at best) and then went through the motions in game 7. Is it up to Doc to motivate him and keep him locked in? Maybe, but he's got a history of shrinking when the lights get brightest and it's getting really hard to excuse it. I hope they resign Harden to a big money deal, because it'll keep them from being serious contenders until that deal expires.

[Donoghus]

Firing Doc didn't address their problems and doesn't help any other than maybe trying to convince Harden to stay. So maybe that's their short term plan, convince Harden to stick around and then if he does, see if you can move Maxey and Harris for another star.

In the end, they shouldn't have panicked, they got the best team in their conference, maybe best in the league, to game 7 despite their MVP hobbled throughout the series.

I agree. Doc has is faults, but I don't think this loss is on him. The biggest mistake Doc made was not putting the ball in Maxey's hands more.

James Harden shot them out of game 6 (his decisions down the stretch were questionable at best) and then went through the motions in game 7. Is it up to Doc to motivate him and keep him locked in? Maybe, but he's got a history of shrinking when the lights get brightest and it's getting really hard to excuse it. I hope they resign Harden to a big money deal, because it'll keep them from being serious contenders until that deal expires.

They're a plateau team.

Time & time again, the front office has let them down over the course of the past decade or so. 

I'm not sure what coach could come in and get that roster to the next level. 

[keevsnick]

First Things First was talking about the Sixers.  Wright and Broussard both thought they'd be better off without Harden and that they should go hard after Lillard with Maxey, Harris (for money), and every pick they can trade.  Basically just be an Embiid/Lillard 2 man show and fill in with veterans and young guys.  Not sure that will land Lillard, but Maxey would certainly be one of the better assets the Blazers could get so it isn't totally far fetched.

Of course Morey loves Harden, so I doubt he'd be I terested in that, but it is interesting

Isn't Maxey somewhat duplicative of Anfernee Simons? I'd imagione one of those two guys who have to be flipped to a third team.

[RJ87]

Firing Doc didn't address their problems and doesn't help any other than maybe trying to convince Harden to stay. So maybe that's their short term plan, convince Harden to stick around and then if he does, see if you can move Maxey and Harris for another star.

In the end, they shouldn't have panicked, they got the best team in their conference, maybe best in the league, to game 7 despite their MVP hobbled throughout the series.

I agree. Doc has is faults, but I don't think this loss is on him. The biggest mistake Doc made was not putting the ball in Maxey's hands more.

James Harden shot them out of game 6 (his decisions down the stretch were questionable at best) and then went through the motions in game 7. Is it up to Doc to motivate him and keep him locked in? Maybe, but he's got a history of shrinking when the lights get brightest and it's getting really hard to excuse it. I hope they resign Harden to a big money deal, because it'll keep them from being serious contenders until that deal expires.

They're a plateau team.

Time & time again, the front office has let them down over the course of the past decade or so. 

I'm not sure what coach could come in and get that roster to the next level.

I said it before, their watershed moment was losing Jimmy Butler. And to lose him because he thought Brett Brown didn't coach hard enough or Ben Simmons played hard enough? A few years later, and both of those guys flamed out in Philly and you have nothing to show for it but another fired coach and the corpse of James Harden.

[BringToughnessBack]

Embiid’s amazing talent is following KG’s trajectory. He needs to demand a trade.

Imagine him with Tatum or Donkic.

[RJ87]

Embiid’s amazing talent is following KG’s trajectory. He needs to demand a trade.

Imagine him with Tatum or Donkic.

Kevin Garnett got his team to a conference finals before he was 30.

[Who]

First Things First was talking about the Sixers.  Wright and Broussard both thought they'd be better off without Harden and that they should go hard after Lillard with Maxey, Harris (for money), and every pick they can trade.  Basically just be an Embiid/Lillard 2 man show and fill in with veterans and young guys.  Not sure that will land Lillard, but Maxey would certainly be one of the better assets the Blazers could get so it isn't totally far fetched.

Of course Morey loves Harden, so I doubt he'd be I terested in that, but it is interesting

I mean if they have to give up Maxey to acquire Lillard, then go ahead. Lillard's the better player BUT I'm not sure how that really threads the needle. Their bench is still awful. It was a problem last season too. It's a thin group. What entire group of "veterans/young guys" can they fill it with that's solid. They got Tucker and he hardly helped.

They probably don't have a choice though. Especially if Harden leaves. Sixers are screwed.

Yeah, if Sixers lose Harden (FA), Maxey, and Harris (salary filler) and they only get Lillard in return, then I'm not sure what the plan is. Niang, Reed, Melton, and House are just not going to cut it. I like Lillard, but no way he makes up for the production of the guys they are losing.

Agreed. Philly already lacking in depth. Trading their 3 supporting stars for 1 star makes them weaker. It will be very difficult to replace that depth (3 starters for 1) and fix their bench. It'll be at least another year before they are ready to make a long playoff run. Just won't be enough talent around Embiid and Lillard.

[Who]

Philly have a very strong team if they can keep Harden.

They need to add a big more depth to their bench and I'd love to see them swap PJ Tucker for a quick footed forward likely with T Harris taking over at PF. Improve that team speed. Too many slow guys.

If Philly lose Harden, that is a huge loss with no compensation coming their way. They are still a very good team without him. A 52 win type club. But more of an above average team but not a title contender team.

Hard to see how they could get a 4th star there to replace Harden. They gave up a bunch of picks to get Harden, right? Lack of quality trade assets. Lack of contracts other than T Harris who does not have much value because of how overpaid he is. Kinda stuck in that above average but not great zone. Hard to see how they move forward. Just be patient and hope something comes up I guess.