Okafor - The Ringer (article)

[celticsclay]

I have a hard time imagining a trade that makes sense for both teams.  I think in theory, trading a package around one of the future Brooklyn picks or Marcus Smart would make sense, but if I'm Philly, I wouldn't want Smart (can't shoot) and I wouldn't want an unknown pick.  I think it might need to be a 3-team deal with Philly getting a shooter. 

Or something built around Avery Bradley, I guess.  Bradley would make sense there.

Man I can't wait to see okafor traded for a role player, lol. You're so wrong on Okafor's value. I agree with you he is awesome, but the league doesn't feel that way because everyone wants to be the Warriors. Yes it's dumb I know, but teams are dumb if you don't know already. The latest reports were okafor doesn't hold much value in the market so please stick with reports instead of talking out of your butt

There were also reports that we couldn't get Okafor for Brooklyn '16 plus substantial assets. Reports are a nice guideline and you can use all of them to try to build a picture of the value or going rate for a player. However just because it's reported that philly can't get anything for Okafor doesn't mean it's necessarily true. Reports are wrong all the time.

They are fine for now.  They can experiment with this for a few months.

PG - Simmons
SG - Bayless/Henderson/Stauskas/Rodriguez
SF - Saric/Convington
PF - Okafor
C - Embiid
---
PF/C - Noel

Plenty of minutes for Okafor, Noel and Embiid to all get 30+

They'd be wise to see if Okafor improved from his rookie to sophomore season (as typically happens with 20 year olds) and whether he plays better alongside Embiid who supposedly has range.  They'd also be wise to see if Okafor flourishes with Simmons passing the ball.  Lot of stuff they can play around with.  There's not enough data yet.  They need to make educated decisions here.

So I wouldn't count on Okafor being traded for a role player.  That'd make no sense whatsoever.

Not only would there be no space for any of the bigs to work on offense, but they'd be a disaster on defense. You can't roll out a lineup with 2 4s and 2 5s.

Yea I think Simmons has great handle for his size, but I really think planning him on playing 20-25 minutes at the point guard spot as the primary ball handler is not going to pan out very well. I think they are trying to claim they will do this as a way of increasing their leverage in trades, but in reality a lineup with Simmons, Saric, Okafor and Noel/Embiid is going to be a complete disaster. I think you know enough basketball to know that.

[LarBrd33]

I have a hard time imagining a trade that makes sense for both teams.  I think in theory, trading a package around one of the future Brooklyn picks or Marcus Smart would make sense, but if I'm Philly, I wouldn't want Smart (can't shoot) and I wouldn't want an unknown pick.  I think it might need to be a 3-team deal with Philly getting a shooter. 

Or something built around Avery Bradley, I guess.  Bradley would make sense there.

Man I can't wait to see okafor traded for a role player, lol. You're so wrong on Okafor's value. I agree with you he is awesome, but the league doesn't feel that way because everyone wants to be the Warriors. Yes it's dumb I know, but teams are dumb if you don't know already. The latest reports were okafor doesn't hold much value in the market so please stick with reports instead of talking out of your butt

There were also reports that we couldn't get Okafor for Brooklyn '16 plus substantial assets. Reports are a nice guideline and you can use all of them to try to build a picture of the value or going rate for a player. However just because it's reported that philly can't get anything for Okafor doesn't mean it's necessarily true. Reports are wrong all the time.

They are fine for now.  They can experiment with this for a few months.

PG - Simmons
SG - Bayless/Henderson/Stauskas/Rodriguez
SF - Saric/Convington
PF - Okafor
C - Embiid
---
PF/C - Noel

Plenty of minutes for Okafor, Noel and Embiid to all get 30+

They'd be wise to see if Okafor improved from his rookie to sophomore season (as typically happens with 20 year olds) and whether he plays better alongside Embiid who supposedly has range.  They'd also be wise to see if Okafor flourishes with Simmons passing the ball.  Lot of stuff they can play around with.  There's not enough data yet.  They need to make educated decisions here.

So I wouldn't count on Okafor being traded for a role player.  That'd make no sense whatsoever.

Not only would there be no space for any of the bigs to work on offense, but they'd be a disaster on defense. You can't roll out a lineup with 2 4s and 2 5s.

Yea I think Simmons has great handle for his size, but I really think planning him on playing 20-25 minutes at the point guard spot as the primary ball handler is not going to pan out very well. I think they are trying to claim they will do this as a way of increasing their leverage in trades, but in reality a lineup with Simmons, Saric, Okafor and Noel/Embiid is going to be a complete disaster. I think you know enough basketball to know that.

apparantly some scouts think Simmons is the next Magic Johnson.  They should be fine playing with their current roster until at least the trade deadline or next summer.  Lots of questions to be answered and plenty of time to answer them.  There's no rush for them to be good.  Getting the #1 pick resets the clock.

[chiken Green]

My fear with Okafor is his fit with what we do.. We as a team are not great shooters but we play with an incredible pace.. We get up and down as fast as possible, averaging more shot attempts than just about anybody in the league..   We run, run run.. 

We were 4th in the league in points scored because of the speed we played with.

Having Okafor would force us to play more of a half court walk it up game for him to be effective.. I don't see him as that kind of workhorse and I don't see us or any team in today's basketball having success playing that way..

Okafor is a lane clogger, a ball stopper.  I just don't see how that works with the guys we have on this team..

we struggled mightily in the playoffs scoring in the half court when the game slowed down.

We struggled mightily because our 2 of our 3 best defensive players were hurt and not playing..

They packed in and forced us to shoot from the outside..  without KO, Bradley and a gimpy Crowder we had nothing to loosen them up.. 
We also were a sieve on defense and we lost on the boards..
OKafor's lack of defense and horrible rebounding would not have helped us at all..  And because he is only effective 10 ft from the hoop it would kill any drive and kick game (which was already half dead with no real threat to kick to)

[celticsclay]

I have a hard time imagining a trade that makes sense for both teams.  I think in theory, trading a package around one of the future Brooklyn picks or Marcus Smart would make sense, but if I'm Philly, I wouldn't want Smart (can't shoot) and I wouldn't want an unknown pick.  I think it might need to be a 3-team deal with Philly getting a shooter. 

Or something built around Avery Bradley, I guess.  Bradley would make sense there.

Man I can't wait to see okafor traded for a role player, lol. You're so wrong on Okafor's value. I agree with you he is awesome, but the league doesn't feel that way because everyone wants to be the Warriors. Yes it's dumb I know, but teams are dumb if you don't know already. The latest reports were okafor doesn't hold much value in the market so please stick with reports instead of talking out of your butt

There were also reports that we couldn't get Okafor for Brooklyn '16 plus substantial assets. Reports are a nice guideline and you can use all of them to try to build a picture of the value or going rate for a player. However just because it's reported that philly can't get anything for Okafor doesn't mean it's necessarily true. Reports are wrong all the time.

They are fine for now.  They can experiment with this for a few months.

PG - Simmons
SG - Bayless/Henderson/Stauskas/Rodriguez
SF - Saric/Convington
PF - Okafor
C - Embiid
---
PF/C - Noel

Plenty of minutes for Okafor, Noel and Embiid to all get 30+

They'd be wise to see if Okafor improved from his rookie to sophomore season (as typically happens with 20 year olds) and whether he plays better alongside Embiid who supposedly has range.  They'd also be wise to see if Okafor flourishes with Simmons passing the ball.  Lot of stuff they can play around with.  There's not enough data yet.  They need to make educated decisions here.

So I wouldn't count on Okafor being traded for a role player.  That'd make no sense whatsoever.

Not only would there be no space for any of the bigs to work on offense, but they'd be a disaster on defense. You can't roll out a lineup with 2 4s and 2 5s.

Yea I think Simmons has great handle for his size, but I really think planning him on playing 20-25 minutes at the point guard spot as the primary ball handler is not going to pan out very well. I think they are trying to claim they will do this as a way of increasing their leverage in trades, but in reality a lineup with Simmons, Saric, Okafor and Noel/Embiid is going to be a complete disaster. I think you know enough basketball to know that.

apparantly some scouts think Simmons is the next Magic Johnson.  They should be fine playing with their current roster until at least the trade deadline or next summer.  Lots of questions to be answered and plenty of time to answer them.  There's no rush for them to be good.  Getting the #1 pick resets the clock.

The grass is always greener in philly right? The woman are prettier in 76ers gear, the beer always tastes better and all the kids are above average.

[ThePaintedArea]

They are fine for now.  They can experiment with this for a few months.

PG - Simmons
SG - Bayless/Henderson/Stauskas/Rodriguez
SF - Saric/Convington
PF - Okafor
C - Embiid
---
PF/C - Noel

Plenty of minutes for Okafor, Noel and Embiid to all get 30+

Simmons surely is the starting 4. He is never, ever going to be able to guard 1s.

Also, you have Okafor listed here as a power forward. That is a recipe for disaster, as he will be predictably awful trying to guard more mobile players out on the floor. But, in any case, his coach played him at center virtually every minute last season, and that is not likely to change.

Also, you didn't list Carl Landry, who is signed through 2017 on a good contract, a power forward who has transformed himself into a very nice stretch four;  he played rotation minutes last season, and that's not likely to disappear .

 Also, Saric, at 6'10", is not likely to be able to take on small forwards in the NBA.  A good rule of thumb here is the old tweener rule: "If you have to ask, he's a four."

Not surprisingly,  given the logjam at power forward, they let Christian Wood depart, despite a very promising season.

They'd be wise to see if Okafor improved from his rookie to sophomore season (as typically happens with 20 year olds) and whether he plays better alongside Embiid who supposedly has range.  They'd also be wise to see if Okafor flourishes with Simmons passing the ball.  Lot of stuff they can play around with.  There's not enough data yet.  They need to make educated decisions here.

So I wouldn't count on Okafor being traded for a role player.  That'd make no sense whatsoever.

 Looks like a buyer's market to me. It does look like he's got a great body, ample evidence of a work ethic, and some exceptional skills. 

They could especially use a point guard who can play off the ball.

[hwangjini_1]

They are fine for now.  They can experiment with this for a few months.

PG - Simmons
SG - Bayless/Henderson/Stauskas/Rodriguez
SF - Saric/Convington
PF - Okafor
C - Embiid
---
PF/C - Noel

Plenty of minutes for Okafor, Noel and Embiid to all get 30+

Simmons surely is the starting 4. He is never, ever going to be able to guard 1s.

Also, you have Okafor listed here as a power forward. That is a recipe for disaster, as he will be predictably awful trying to guard more mobile players out on the floor. But, in any case, his coach played him at center virtually every minute last season, and that is not likely to change.

Also, you didn't list Carl Landry, who is signed through 2017 on a good contract, a power forward who has transformed himself into a very nice stretch four;  he played rotation minutes last season, and that's not likely to disappear .

 Also, Saric, at 6'10", is not likely to be able to take on small forwards in the NBA.  A good rule of thumb here is the old tweener rule: "If you have to ask, he's a four."

Not surprisingly,  given the logjam at power forward, they let Christian Wood depart, despite a very promising season.

They'd be wise to see if Okafor improved from his rookie to sophomore season (as typically happens with 20 year olds) and whether he plays better alongside Embiid who supposedly has range.  They'd also be wise to see if Okafor flourishes with Simmons passing the ball.  Lot of stuff they can play around with.  There's not enough data yet.  They need to make educated decisions here.

So I wouldn't count on Okafor being traded for a role player.  That'd make no sense whatsoever.

 Looks like a buyer's market to me. It does look like he's got a great body, ample evidence of a work ethic, and some exceptional skills. 

They could especially use a point guard who can play off the ball.

honest to goodness folks, i love how this kid can pass the ball, but does anyone realistically think simmons can guard pgs in the nba?

next, one of the many challenges facing philly is how to give minutes to embiid (assuming he can play), noel, okafur, and simmons. oh, and possibly saric as well.

a trade would seem to be a good solution for this embarassment of tall riches. but given the offering prices for okafur, that may not work out as philly had hoped.

[celticsclay]

Obviously nobody can really guard Westbrook, Curry, Lillard etc. However, asking Simmons to guard those players is an unfair request. Asking Saric and Okafor to switch on pick and rolls with simmons is also clearly not going to work. How does anybody think they can play okafor, embiid, simmons and saric at the same time is beyond me.

[Ilikesports17]

Simmons
random scrub
Saric
Okafor
Embiid might be the worst defensive starting 5 in NBA history.

[LarBrd33]

They are fine for now.  They can experiment with this for a few months.

PG - Simmons
SG - Bayless/Henderson/Stauskas/Rodriguez
SF - Saric/Convington
PF - Okafor
C - Embiid
---
PF/C - Noel

Plenty of minutes for Okafor, Noel and Embiid to all get 30+

Simmons surely is the starting 4. He is never, ever going to be able to guard 1s.

Also, you have Okafor listed here as a power forward. That is a recipe for disaster, as he will be predictably awful trying to guard more mobile players out on the floor. But, in any case, his coach played him at center virtually every minute last season, and that is not likely to change.

Also, you didn't list Carl Landry, who is signed through 2017 on a good contract, a power forward who has transformed himself into a very nice stretch four;  he played rotation minutes last season, and that's not likely to disappear .

 Also, Saric, at 6'10", is not likely to be able to take on small forwards in the NBA.  A good rule of thumb here is the old tweener rule: "If you have to ask, he's a four."

Not surprisingly,  given the logjam at power forward, they let Christian Wood depart, despite a very promising season.

They'd be wise to see if Okafor improved from his rookie to sophomore season (as typically happens with 20 year olds) and whether he plays better alongside Embiid who supposedly has range.  They'd also be wise to see if Okafor flourishes with Simmons passing the ball.  Lot of stuff they can play around with.  There's not enough data yet.  They need to make educated decisions here.

So I wouldn't count on Okafor being traded for a role player.  That'd make no sense whatsoever.

 Looks like a buyer's market to me. It does look like he's got a great body, ample evidence of a work ethic, and some exceptional skills. 

They could especially use a point guard who can play off the ball.

honest to goodness folks, i love how this kid can pass the ball, but does anyone realistically think simmons can guard pgs in the nba?

next, one of the many challenges facing philly is how to give minutes to embiid (assuming he can play), noel, okafur, and simmons. oh, and possibly saric as well.

a trade would seem to be a good solution for this embarassment of tall riches. but given the offering prices for okafur, that may not work out as philly had hoped.

None of that matters right now.  They just need to develop the kids and wait out the decade-long Golden State dynasty.

Simmons doesn't need to guard opposing PG's... he just needs to be the guy controlling the ball on offense.  THey can have a smaller guy slotted in at SG (like Bayless).   

Point is, minutes aren't an issue out of the gate.  Embiid will likely be on a minute restriction.  Fans will be buying tickets.  Should be fun to watch for the time being.

[hwangjini_1]

They are fine for now.  They can experiment with this for a few months.

PG - Simmons
SG - Bayless/Henderson/Stauskas/Rodriguez
SF - Saric/Convington
PF - Okafor
C - Embiid
---
PF/C - Noel

Plenty of minutes for Okafor, Noel and Embiid to all get 30+

Simmons surely is the starting 4. He is never, ever going to be able to guard 1s.

Also, you have Okafor listed here as a power forward. That is a recipe for disaster, as he will be predictably awful trying to guard more mobile players out on the floor. But, in any case, his coach played him at center virtually every minute last season, and that is not likely to change.

Also, you didn't list Carl Landry, who is signed through 2017 on a good contract, a power forward who has transformed himself into a very nice stretch four;  he played rotation minutes last season, and that's not likely to disappear .

 Also, Saric, at 6'10", is not likely to be able to take on small forwards in the NBA.  A good rule of thumb here is the old tweener rule: "If you have to ask, he's a four."

Not surprisingly,  given the logjam at power forward, they let Christian Wood depart, despite a very promising season.

They'd be wise to see if Okafor improved from his rookie to sophomore season (as typically happens with 20 year olds) and whether he plays better alongside Embiid who supposedly has range.  They'd also be wise to see if Okafor flourishes with Simmons passing the ball.  Lot of stuff they can play around with.  There's not enough data yet.  They need to make educated decisions here.

So I wouldn't count on Okafor being traded for a role player.  That'd make no sense whatsoever.

 Looks like a buyer's market to me. It does look like he's got a great body, ample evidence of a work ethic, and some exceptional skills. 

They could especially use a point guard who can play off the ball.

honest to goodness folks, i love how this kid can pass the ball, but does anyone realistically think simmons can guard pgs in the nba?

next, one of the many challenges facing philly is how to give minutes to embiid (assuming he can play), noel, okafur, and simmons. oh, and possibly saric as well.

a trade would seem to be a good solution for this embarassment of tall riches. but given the offering prices for okafur, that may not work out as philly had hoped.

None of that matters right now.  They just need to develop the kids and wait out the decade-long Golden State dynasty.

Simmons doesn't need to guard opposing PG's... he just needs to be the guy controlling the ball on offense.  THey can have a smaller guy slotted in at SG (like Bayless).   

Point is, minutes aren't an issue out of the gate.  Embiid will likely be on a minute restriction.  Fans will be buying tickets.  Should be fun to watch for the time being.

ha, ha...so simmons guards the sg while someone else guards the pg? not really a solution is it?

but then, this year is not about winning for philly that is for sure. it is about actually becoming a credible nba team. so experimentation is welcome i suppose.

[tankcity!]

I have a hard time imagining a trade that makes sense for both teams.  I think in theory, trading a package around one of the future Brooklyn picks or Marcus Smart would make sense, but if I'm Philly, I wouldn't want Smart (can't shoot) and I wouldn't want an unknown pick.  I think it might need to be a 3-team deal with Philly getting a shooter. 

Or something built around Avery Bradley, I guess.  Bradley would make sense there.

Man I can't wait to see okafor traded for a role player, lol. You're so wrong on Okafor's value. I agree with you he is awesome, but the league doesn't feel that way because everyone wants to be the Warriors. Yes it's dumb I know, but teams are dumb if you don't know already. The latest reports were okafor doesn't hold much value in the market so please stick with reports instead of talking out of your butt

There were also reports that we couldn't get Okafor for Brooklyn '16 plus substantial assets. Reports are a nice guideline and you can use all of them to try to build a picture of the value or going rate for a player. However just because it's reported that philly can't get anything for Okafor doesn't mean it's necessarily true. Reports are wrong all the time.

They are fine for now.  They can experiment with this for a few months.

PG - Simmons
SG - Bayless/Henderson/Stauskas/Rodriguez
SF - Saric/Convington
PF - Okafor
C - Embiid
---
PF/C - Noel

Plenty of minutes for Okafor, Noel and Embiid to all get 30+

They'd be wise to see if Okafor improved from his rookie to sophomore season (as typically happens with 20 year olds) and whether he plays better alongside Embiid who supposedly has range.  They'd also be wise to see if Okafor flourishes with Simmons passing the ball.  Lot of stuff they can play around with.  There's not enough data yet.  They need to make educated decisions here.

So I wouldn't count on Okafor being traded for a role player.  That'd make no sense whatsoever.

Not only would there be no space for any of the bigs to work on offense, but they'd be a disaster on defense. You can't roll out a lineup with 2 4s and 2 5s.

Yea I think Simmons has great handle for his size, but I really think planning him on playing 20-25 minutes at the point guard spot as the primary ball handler is not going to pan out very well. I think they are trying to claim they will do this as a way of increasing their leverage in trades, but in reality a lineup with Simmons, Saric, Okafor and Noel/Embiid is going to be a complete disaster. I think you know enough basketball to know that.

apparantly some scouts think Simmons is the next Magic Johnson.  They should be fine playing with their current roster until at least the trade deadline or next summer.  Lots of questions to be answered and plenty of time to answer them.  There's no rush for them to be good.  Getting the #1 pick resets the clock.

He reminds me of Magic Johnson too. He's def a PG. But they do need more shooting. You have to agree with that though. And Okafor actually has 3 years before his contract expires, so they have time. With Noel, they do not.

[LarBrd33]

They are fine for now.  They can experiment with this for a few months.

PG - Simmons
SG - Bayless/Henderson/Stauskas/Rodriguez
SF - Saric/Convington
PF - Okafor
C - Embiid
---
PF/C - Noel

Plenty of minutes for Okafor, Noel and Embiid to all get 30+

Simmons surely is the starting 4. He is never, ever going to be able to guard 1s.

Also, you have Okafor listed here as a power forward. That is a recipe for disaster, as he will be predictably awful trying to guard more mobile players out on the floor. But, in any case, his coach played him at center virtually every minute last season, and that is not likely to change.

Also, you didn't list Carl Landry, who is signed through 2017 on a good contract, a power forward who has transformed himself into a very nice stretch four;  he played rotation minutes last season, and that's not likely to disappear .

 Also, Saric, at 6'10", is not likely to be able to take on small forwards in the NBA.  A good rule of thumb here is the old tweener rule: "If you have to ask, he's a four."

Not surprisingly,  given the logjam at power forward, they let Christian Wood depart, despite a very promising season.

They'd be wise to see if Okafor improved from his rookie to sophomore season (as typically happens with 20 year olds) and whether he plays better alongside Embiid who supposedly has range.  They'd also be wise to see if Okafor flourishes with Simmons passing the ball.  Lot of stuff they can play around with.  There's not enough data yet.  They need to make educated decisions here.

So I wouldn't count on Okafor being traded for a role player.  That'd make no sense whatsoever.

 Looks like a buyer's market to me. It does look like he's got a great body, ample evidence of a work ethic, and some exceptional skills. 

They could especially use a point guard who can play off the ball.

honest to goodness folks, i love how this kid can pass the ball, but does anyone realistically think simmons can guard pgs in the nba?

next, one of the many challenges facing philly is how to give minutes to embiid (assuming he can play), noel, okafur, and simmons. oh, and possibly saric as well.

a trade would seem to be a good solution for this embarassment of tall riches. but given the offering prices for okafur, that may not work out as philly had hoped.

None of that matters right now.  They just need to develop the kids and wait out the decade-long Golden State dynasty.

Simmons doesn't need to guard opposing PG's... he just needs to be the guy controlling the ball on offense.  THey can have a smaller guy slotted in at SG (like Bayless).   

Point is, minutes aren't an issue out of the gate.  Embiid will likely be on a minute restriction.  Fans will be buying tickets.  Should be fun to watch for the time being.

ha, ha...so simmons guards the sg while someone else guards the pg? not really a solution is it?

but then, this year is not about winning for philly that is for sure. it is about actually becoming a credible nba team. so experimentation is welcome i suppose.

Yeah it's not a solution, and I fully expect them to make moves to try to form a more coherent team, but the point is they don't really need to do anything immediately.  They can wait it out at least until February to see exactly what they have.  Hard to evaluate that team when most of those guys have never played an NBA game (Simmons/Saric/Embiid) and others have never played alongside other NBA-level talent (Okafor/Noel). 

[Ilikesports17]

They are fine for now.  They can experiment with this for a few months.

PG - Simmons
SG - Bayless/Henderson/Stauskas/Rodriguez
SF - Saric/Convington
PF - Okafor
C - Embiid
---
PF/C - Noel

Plenty of minutes for Okafor, Noel and Embiid to all get 30+

Simmons surely is the starting 4. He is never, ever going to be able to guard 1s.

Also, you have Okafor listed here as a power forward. That is a recipe for disaster, as he will be predictably awful trying to guard more mobile players out on the floor. But, in any case, his coach played him at center virtually every minute last season, and that is not likely to change.

Also, you didn't list Carl Landry, who is signed through 2017 on a good contract, a power forward who has transformed himself into a very nice stretch four;  he played rotation minutes last season, and that's not likely to disappear .

 Also, Saric, at 6'10", is not likely to be able to take on small forwards in the NBA.  A good rule of thumb here is the old tweener rule: "If you have to ask, he's a four."

Not surprisingly,  given the logjam at power forward, they let Christian Wood depart, despite a very promising season.

They'd be wise to see if Okafor improved from his rookie to sophomore season (as typically happens with 20 year olds) and whether he plays better alongside Embiid who supposedly has range.  They'd also be wise to see if Okafor flourishes with Simmons passing the ball.  Lot of stuff they can play around with.  There's not enough data yet.  They need to make educated decisions here.

So I wouldn't count on Okafor being traded for a role player.  That'd make no sense whatsoever.

 Looks like a buyer's market to me. It does look like he's got a great body, ample evidence of a work ethic, and some exceptional skills. 

They could especially use a point guard who can play off the ball.

honest to goodness folks, i love how this kid can pass the ball, but does anyone realistically think simmons can guard pgs in the nba?

next, one of the many challenges facing philly is how to give minutes to embiid (assuming he can play), noel, okafur, and simmons. oh, and possibly saric as well.

a trade would seem to be a good solution for this embarassment of tall riches. but given the offering prices for okafur, that may not work out as philly had hoped.

None of that matters right now.  They just need to develop the kids and wait out the decade-long Golden State dynasty.

Simmons doesn't need to guard opposing PG's... he just needs to be the guy controlling the ball on offense.  THey can have a smaller guy slotted in at SG (like Bayless).   

Point is, minutes aren't an issue out of the gate.  Embiid will likely be on a minute restriction.  Fans will be buying tickets.  Should be fun to watch for the time being.

Not only is that presumptive but it is largely irrelevant to Philly's situation. There wasnt any sense of urgency prior to Kd to GSW and there isnt and shouldnt be now. More importantly, there is always gonna be someone really good in the NBA. GSW might take it to another level but you should always build towards maxing out your assets and talent. you cant try to carefully time it so you get the NBA on a down year. To many variables. 3 years ago I probably would have said that 2016 or 2017 would be great years to peak because the Lebron Heat would probably be on the downswing then. However, the idea that their assets cannot see a decrease in value is absurd. If you ask Saric to gaurd 3s Okafor to gaurd 4s and Noel to spend another season playing next to Okafor in a spacing starved offense they will absolutetly continue to see their values drop. Embiid could well have an impressive season but I would anticipate him having a net negative impact on the team if only because he has very little real basketball experience it will take him a while to learn how to play the game in a winning manner and playing in that disaster of a lineup will not help that process at all.

[tankcity!]

They are fine for now.  They can experiment with this for a few months.

PG - Simmons
SG - Bayless/Henderson/Stauskas/Rodriguez
SF - Saric/Convington
PF - Okafor
C - Embiid
---
PF/C - Noel

Plenty of minutes for Okafor, Noel and Embiid to all get 30+

Simmons surely is the starting 4. He is never, ever going to be able to guard 1s.

Also, you have Okafor listed here as a power forward. That is a recipe for disaster, as he will be predictably awful trying to guard more mobile players out on the floor. But, in any case, his coach played him at center virtually every minute last season, and that is not likely to change.

Also, you didn't list Carl Landry, who is signed through 2017 on a good contract, a power forward who has transformed himself into a very nice stretch four;  he played rotation minutes last season, and that's not likely to disappear .

 Also, Saric, at 6'10", is not likely to be able to take on small forwards in the NBA.  A good rule of thumb here is the old tweener rule: "If you have to ask, he's a four."

Not surprisingly,  given the logjam at power forward, they let Christian Wood depart, despite a very promising season.

They'd be wise to see if Okafor improved from his rookie to sophomore season (as typically happens with 20 year olds) and whether he plays better alongside Embiid who supposedly has range.  They'd also be wise to see if Okafor flourishes with Simmons passing the ball.  Lot of stuff they can play around with.  There's not enough data yet.  They need to make educated decisions here.

So I wouldn't count on Okafor being traded for a role player.  That'd make no sense whatsoever.

 Looks like a buyer's market to me. It does look like he's got a great body, ample evidence of a work ethic, and some exceptional skills. 

They could especially use a point guard who can play off the ball.

honest to goodness folks, i love how this kid can pass the ball, but does anyone realistically think simmons can guard pgs in the nba?

next, one of the many challenges facing philly is how to give minutes to embiid (assuming he can play), noel, okafur, and simmons. oh, and possibly saric as well.

a trade would seem to be a good solution for this embarassment of tall riches. but given the offering prices for okafur, that may not work out as philly had hoped.

None of that matters right now.  They just need to develop the kids and wait out the decade-long Golden State dynasty.

Simmons doesn't need to guard opposing PG's... he just needs to be the guy controlling the ball on offense.  THey can have a smaller guy slotted in at SG (like Bayless).   

Point is, minutes aren't an issue out of the gate.  Embiid will likely be on a minute restriction.  Fans will be buying tickets.  Should be fun to watch for the time being.

How did Magic Johnson guard Point Guards? 

Have people watched Simmons play? He's pretty much Lebron without the shooting and finishing. He's athletic enough to basically guard any position. The guy is a positionless basketball player. If he puts effort on D, I wouldn't be concerned about him guarding midgets he can swat from behind like Lebron.

[Evantime34]

After reading through this thread, I wanted to ask a clarifying question.

What defines a player's position?

Growing up and learning the game I was taught that there was an archetype for each position, centers were low post rim protectors, point guards ran the offense, ect.

Now, the game has transitioned away from these archetypes to a positionless style that hinges on every position being able to be multidimensional. With the relaxing of the defensive 3 seconds rule and the removal of hand checking almost every player has become perimeter oriented.

Today each position demands that players be able to play on the perimeter, so the offensive archetypes really don't hold water anymore. This is why, I judge positions by what position a player can guard rather than their traditional archetype.

To tie this back to the discussion, no matter how well Simmons can handle the ball he will never be a point guard, because he can not defend point guards. He can be a point forward that runs the offense but he will always be a 4.

This is why the Sixers big man log jam is problematic for Philly. If you think of positions based on who players guard the log jam becomes more clear
Embiid and Okafor can only guard 5's
Noel is best at the 5 but can also guard 4's
Saric is best at the 4 but can also guard 3's
Covington is best at the 4 but can also guard 3's
Holmes is best at the 4 but can also guard some smaller 5's
Simmons didn't show the ability to guard anyone in college but it's likely he's best guarding the 4.

So you have 7 guys who are best played at the 4 or the 5. This doesn't mean they have to make a deal immediately, since Embiid's health is a question,  and Okafor still is recovering from his injury they could ease those two Simmons and Saric into playing time. However, at some point they need to make a move.