Philadelphia 76ers: Disgruntled Rose A Prime Candidate In Team’s Quest for Stars

Patience is a virtue and a primary theme for the Philadelphia 76ers. They’re in no particular rush to get back to the playoffs and won’t sacrifice the future in order to benefit their present state. Philadelphia hasn’t been a player in the free agency market in years and have had the mindset of building throughout the draft.

General manager Sam Hinkie facilitated this rebuilding period in 2013 and got owner Joshua Harris to buy into his elaborate plan of changing the landscape of the Sixers.

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Two years later, Harris is antsy and itching to get back into contention, but understands the long-term goal of his organization:

"“Not winning now is really tough on me,” Harris admitted when talking about the state of the team, per Philly Mag’s Derek Bodner. “I’m very impatient. I’ll always wish that we’re further along than we are. I want to win today, but I’m not willing to sacrifice the long run to do that.”"

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It’s all in the quest to add cheap, controlled, team-friendly contracts in the draft, but the meaning is much more than keeping their cap low. Besides the player development and getting top picks in every draft, Philadelphia is vehemently searching for their next star.

This calculated quest for their next Allen Iverson has fueled decision making on who may, or may not, be a part of the organization for years to come. Upside is the accurate term for the Sixers evaluation of its players and what they could eventually become on a contending roster.

Michael Carter-Williams, a fan favorite in his short stint with Philadelphia, was controversially dealt to Milwaukee because he lacked upside. Management didn’t view the 6-foot-6 point guard as a star in the NBA and tried to extract maximum value for one of their lone trade chips.

Whether it be a stat-influincing system or running the show with the ball in his hands for multiple possessions, MCW had peaked, according to many, and the lack of shooting polish and consistency hindered his ceiling.

D’Angelo Russell, a much more flashy and accurate shooter, was Philadelphia’s next supposed franchise point guard until Los Angeles took a sledgehammer to the Sixers’ plan. Jahlil Okafor became the newest addition to a center-heavy organization. Currently, he’s comfortably settled into the starting center slot while Nerlens Noel has shifted to power forward.

The point guard situation has yet to be unraveled and a starter eventually will emerge. Currently, no one has evidently stood out for coach Brett Brown:

"“It’s too early to tell. I like what I see at the moment,” Brown said, per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey. “Everything gets sort of filtered when you play an NBA game and you start to see it, truly, for what it is. These guys are A-plus attitude, A-plus effort. They’re young. I see upside in all of them. I see why they’re in our gym. Then all of the sudden it’s, ‘How soon can they develop?’ I feel I can make better, more accurate assessments after we start playing some preseason games.”"

The Sixers might have point guards that are A-plus in attitude and effort, but not in productive NBA talent. The conglomerate of Tony Wroten, Kendall Marshall, Isaiah Canaan, Pierre Jackson, Scottie Wilbekin and T.J. McConnell isn’t striking fear into an opponent.

This group of former castoffs and undrafted talent is a product of Hinkie’s desire for drafting the best player available (Okafor) in the first round. Eventually, the Sixers could have a frontcourt full of stars, but their current backcourt is lacking firepower.

There are plenty of players in the league who could provide Philadelphia with a franchise lead guard who will mesh with the bigs over time. One of them looks like he wants to test the waters when his contract runs out with the Chicago Bulls.

Derrick Rose, who recently vented to the media about the lack of recognition he’s receiving, is an undeniable star worth monitoring for the Sixers. Whether it’s the media testing his mettle or the anguish of repeated injuries, he recently suffered an orbital fracture per ESPN’s Nick Freidell, Rose has, what he calls “tunnel vision” entering the 2015-16 NBA season.

It’s apparent that Rose has faith in his abilities and he’s still labeled as one of the best point guards in the NBA, despite dealing with multiple severe injuries.

A hyper-athletic mismatch nightmare at the top of the key, Rose averaged 17.7 points per game last season despite shooting just 40.5 percent in an injury-riddled 2014-15 campaign. He was a predominate scorer within the arc (67.5 percent of his shots were two-point attempts), but showed rust from the lack of consistent health throughout the season.

The fact that he’s ready to embrace 2017–the year Rose will be a free agent–is troublesome for the Chicago Bulls. Already, he’s sending the message that he has his mind partially set on fielding offers and not fully invested in winning a title this season.

Rose: “You see the way all this money will be passed around in this league. My day (free agency) is coming."
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) September 28, 2015

When Rose hits the market, Philadelphia will be in a more fortuitous situation then 2015’s flop when they “tried” to reel in Jimmy Butler and instead used their cap via a trade with Sacramento.

Taking in the contracts of Carl Landry ($6.5 million per Spotrac) and Gerald Wallace ($10.1 Million) does factor in the team’s flexibility with their salary cap, but the team’s egregious contracts will be off the books come 2017.

Also, they have to make a franchise-altering choice in making Nerlens Noel a max contract player in the same timeframe or try to turn him into an asset in the near-future.

You can ask different people’s opinions on who would be their ideal future lineup for the Sixers, but plenty were hooked on the idea of landing Kevin Durant in 2016 to team with Okafor, Noel and possibly Joel Embiid.

What separates the probability of landing a Durant over Rose is the possibility of Durant returning home to Washington and playing with a youthful tag team in John Wall and Bradley Beal in the backcourt.

There is no hometown discount from Chicago. Rose grew up in the area and went to Chicago high school power Simeon Career Academy. If he’s upset with playing in an environment he’s familiar with, and one that has an accolade-laden history, then there’s a sense of unpredictability tied to Rose’s future.

At the moment he seems jaded, which could instantly turn into optimism in a heartbeat. He also, by his expression, seems to want to try and convince people he’s back to the elite level he played at when he was named MVP back in 2011.

The Sixers might never be an option for Rose. They could never progress to the level that attracts high-caliber free agents, or he’s simply set on playing in a winning environment.

Harris noted the lack of player movement in the 2015 offseason and the struggle to obtain stars from other teams in free agency.

With a copious amount of cap room and plenty of draft picks to be converted into enticing young players, Philadelphia is always an option.

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