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| GM Sam Hinkie Doin' Work |
With this draft, Hinkie gave the organization some direction. Before, they were a middle of the road team, a place no NBA team wants to be. They wouldn't have a real shot at a championship and yet they would also miss out on drafting a young superstar. Hinkie has made it obvious that the Sixers are now in total rebuilding mode and will build around a core of Noel, MCW, Turner (if not traded) and whichever players they pick up with their two 1st round picks in 2014's loaded draft.
Coaching Search:
Here, at the end of July, the Sixers are the only team without a head coach. As Charles Barkley put it, "it's a joke". However, most sources say the Sixers have the search narrowed down to two candidates: their own Michael Curry and the Spurs' Brett Brown.
Curry has been an associate head coach of the 76ers since 2010 and has played the part of head coach of the Sixers in the Orlando Summer League. Brown has been Gregg Popovich's assistant with the current Western Conference Champion Spurs for the past 7 years.The new coach will almost definitely not be pressured to win in their first year, as it will be tanked, and instead will try and grow familiar with their young players and build some team chemistry, hoping to make a serious run 2 or 3 years down the road.
Summer League Standouts:
The Sixers participated in the Orlando Summer League where, as practice for the regular season, they went 1-4 under coach Michael Curry. Although their record was not pretty, it was a good place to observe the Sixers young, prospective talent (except, of course, Noel who is out with a knee injury...I feel like I've heard that before).
The #11 pick, Michael Carter-Williams, showed a lot of potential. He averaged 6.8 assists and 4.2 rebounds as well as 2 steals per game. He also showed aggressiveness on offense, which is good, but can be dangerous for a young guard as he averaged 4.8 turnovers. MCW did score a nice 13.6 points per game but this was achieved on an ugly 27% shooting from the floor, with an even uglier 15.8% from beyond the arc. Shooting was something the Sixers knew Carter-Williams would have to work on. He will have his time to adjust during his rookie season and it looks as though he can be a solid starting point guard as long as he protects the ball and works on his shot.
Second year big-man Arnett Moultrie was one of only two players on the summer league roster who played for the Sixers during last season. Moultrie averaged 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Many fans were disappointed Doug Collins didn't give Moultrie more playing time last year, but after after his performance this summer, I wouldn't be surprised if young Moultrie was a solid part of the Sixers rotation for the next few years.
Undrafted rookie Khalif Wyatt out of Temple University made a splash on the Sixers' summer roster, leading the team with 13.8 points per game despite only averaging 19 minutes a game. He shot an impressive 45.8% from the floor and an even more impressive 42.9% from the 3 point line. Most fans knew the 2013 A-10 player of the year and Big 5 player of the year could score, but what impressed Sixers' GM Hinkie was his passing ability. Wyatt averaged over 3 assists per game. Wyatt could be a great addition to the roster as a source of points off the bench. I can't see a reason why the Sixers wouldn't take a chance and sign him for the regular season.
Keep an eye open for the second 76ers offseason report, where I will cover the Sixers' free agent losses and gains and more!
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