Much has been made of the moves by Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie to trade away Jrue Holiday for a bunch of future assets. What this told most of us is that Philly isn’t interested in winning anytime soon and would aim to be back competing in three to five years.
Being bad — and I mean terrible — is better for the long-term vision of the franchise. I get that. With a loaded 2014 draft class, having a record that is in the bottom few of the conference ensures a possible franchise-changing superstar like Andrew Wiggins. Having an Andrew Wiggins — or even a Jabari Parker — on board would instantly make the Sixers one hell of an exciting young team.
The days of mediocrity are over and Andre Iguodala was the face of it. Photo Credit: Joseph Glorioso, Flickr.com
There is one big problem that I don’t think gets enough attention: Tanking is boring to watch, horrible to cover and will not sell tickets. The pain of having to watch a team that has not been constructed to win is going to be hard for any fan to take. And yes, Philadelphia has been the definition of mediocre in the last 10 years, but at least there were exciting nights. Who can forget when the Andre Iguodala-led Sixers knocked off the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs?
It’s a drain on the franchise. Look at the Charlotte Bobcats. Being bad every season puts pressure on the front office to nail every draft pick. Not only that, but bringing in rookies to a losing environment is hardly ideal. Kawhi Leonard is a great example of a player that got brought into the league in a winning environment and flourished like few thought he would. And back to the Bobcats: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist stuttered out of the gates in his NBA career, which surely had something to do with the losing culture that had been developed by year upon year of losing?
The Philadelphia fans are hardly renowned for patience either. Will they condone a team going out there with no shot of winning more than 30 games? I wouldn’t be so sure.
I’ll finish this by making my stance clear on this issue: The Sixers need to tank for the long-term success of the franchise. Going into semi-rebuild mode year upon year did not work. However, what I’m trying to say is that it is not going to be the good, pleasurable experience that it is made out to be. The long-term rewards can be fruitful, as proved by the Oklahoma City Thunder, but they can also be tedious, as seen with the Charlotte Bobcats. It will be interesting to see where the Sixers land themselves. Over to you, Sam Hinkie.