Sixers Get Picks #3, #10 and Why That is Perfectly Okay

The NBA Draft Lottery finally decided to rear its head last night and almost a year of waiting through 26-game losing streaks, numerous 10-day contracts and the second worst record in the entire NBA culminated into a 19.9% chance that our beloved Sixers would end up with the #1 overall pick and the rights to take Andrew Wiggins in the 2014 NBA Draft. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, the Sixers ended up getting the #3 overall pick and the #10 overall from the Pelicans. Thus, the harsh reality that is the NBA Draft Lottery has to be faced. Still, the outcome is nothing that should be met with tears, anger or conspiracy theories. If you'll recall from my piece about Dante Exum, the Sixers needed to land a top 4 pick this year in order for me to be satisfied. In that case, I'm ecstatic about how the chance to officially claim one of the draft's "Big 3" as our own. Trying to figure out exactly which one of those three will fall to us is another story for another day. Today is about how the big guys up top in the Sixers organization have taken another step towards the successful fulfillment of "The Plan."

"The Plan" is short for the act of laying an organizational foundation that can one day result in a team that will compete for multiple NBA championships over an extended period of time. This plan does not guarantee that the Sixers will win a championship, it doesn't guarantee they'll win the draft lottery and it certainly doesn't guarantee every draft pick will be the Rookie of the Year. But there is something to be said about maximizing your assets and thereby raising the probability that you'll one day be able to claim an organization that can be as successful as the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs are the model of success in the NBA. Sure most people hate them for how long they've stuck around, but you can't help but marvel at what they've been able to accomplish. As the great Drizzy Drake once said, "jealousy is just love and hate at the same time" and in the case of the Spurs, that hate is mostly formulated from the desire that their team could have a realistic shot at the championship every year for over a decade. Every fan would love for their team to be the Spurs and that's why they claim they hate them. Best case scenario for the Sixers, they will one day become the Spurs with the help of Sam Hinkie and Joshua Harris.

The real heroes of the 76ers, even if the fan base can't see it yet.

In order to become the model for NBA success however, you have to draft a superstar like Tim Duncan, have a coach like Greg Popovich, and hit on late 1st round draft picks like Tony Parker or even find second round stars like Manu Ginobili. That's why the Sixers "tanking" is so necessary in today's NBA. Teams need star power to win and unfortunately if you're not Miami, Los Angeles, New York or Chicago, you're not going to attract stars in free agency as frequently as you would like. So where does star power come from if you can't do it through free agency? Obviously, the draft. But in order to have the highest probability of obtaining that star power, you need to be higher in the draft. That is why "tanking" is merely a derogatory term for the maximization of the your draft pick assets. There's not much hope for a team middled in mediocracy to simply get lucky in the draft and find a superstar with the 18th overall pick, it just doesn't happen that way. Especially since teams that are contending for the 7th and 8th seeds every year are probably vastly overpaying for "stars" that plainly put, are not worth the money. That's what we saw from the Sixers for so long. Overpaying for the Andre Igoudala's, Elton Brand's and Chris Webber's of the world. These players were good enough to keep the Sixers in the playoffs every year but to expect them to lead you to a championship is a facade and it took a new ownership team to finally see through it.

Did the Sixers need to trade away two of their best players in Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes this year in order to be one of the worst teams in the league? No. But what's the point of holding on to a player if you know you're not going to want them in the future? Especially if you can trade them now and at least get something for them. Plus Sixers fans thinking that E.T. or Spencer were worth more than second round picks have to look at what those players are doing now for their teams. Spencer is a borderline backup center for a lottery team and E.T. is riding the pine on a championship contender. These guys were considered the Sixers stars and are certainly anything but that on the teams they're with now. So is a 2nd round pick a good deal in hindsight for a bench warmer? I'll take it every time. The trading of bum present day players for the future possibility of selecting a 2nd round star like Manu Ginobili is a deal you have to take. We know what Evan Turner is, and the pure possibility, no matter how small, of getting someone useful in the 2nd round makes the deal a good one. Not to mention that Hawes had no future here with Nerlens waiting in the wings.

So yes, the Sixers didn't win the 2014 Lottery, but who says they even needed to? Hinkie has been able to take a mediocre playoff roster and set himself up with insane cap flexibility, the Rookie of the Year, the best NBA prospect from last year, and the #3 and #10 overall picks in the best NBA Draft since 2003, which in terms of statistical probabilities, is exactly what the Philadelphia 76ers needed; a fresh start. "The Plan" is a process that doesn't happen in one year, the Sixers will not contend for a title next year, or the year after and that's okay. As their young building block players begin to grow together with the help of the best development coaching squad in the entire league, the Sixers will eventually find success. Sixers fans will be taught patience over these next couple of years and then will reap the rewards together later. Right now, it's important to enjoy watching young stars in MCW, Nerlens Noel and whoever the team drafts this year grow up and learn together. When you look at the big picture of the Sixers organization, the future is as bright as the spotlights beaming down on the Larry O'Brien Trophy and I'm okay with not winning every battle in the hopes of one day winning the war.

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