There is no doubt in my mind that the Sixers are the most interesting team in the NBA. This team is 1-23 and they seem to be grabbing national headlines every other day. Every time this franchise gets brought up on social media or on TV, people just seem to have such passionate opinions about a team that has one win. Heck, on Mike and Mike the other morning, Mike Green berg said that the Sixers should not be allowed to get Ben Simmons for the mockery they are making of the NBA. Now, everyone knows what side I am on with this argument at this point. Are the Sixers going to the extreme to ensure losses? Sure they are. But how is this any different from the Los Angeles Lakers? The Lakers had the number two pick, got Julius Randle back, signed Lou Williams , traded for Roy Hibbert , and still only have two more wins than Philadelphia. At least the Sixers are developing young players rather than benching the number two pick in the draft like Byron Scott and the Lakers are doing. But like I said, the extreme way in which the Sixers are doing this is much more polarizing.
Let’s take a look at the past week. The Sixers hired Jerry Colangelo, a man who is well-respected throughout the NBA. Each day there seemed to be a new story about this hiring. It was first reported that the NBA had a hand in making the decision. It was later said, by Colangelo, that the Sixers and the NBA “begged” Colangelo to help out. Sam Hinke, in an interview with Zach Lowe said, “Our owners made it very clear they want me leading us long term.” Will we ever know which one is true? Probably not. This is just another move by the Sixers that brings out many opinions. So in that spirit, I will give mine! I think that Colangelo will have a say in decision-making, but Hinkie will just be the main guy. I think that Colangelo is going to be the “face of the process.” This means that Colangelo will repair the relationships with other general mangers and agents that Hinkie broke, while Hinkie is working behind the scenes to continue the project that he has been working on.
Shortly after this, the Sixers extended the contract of head coach Brett Brown and have started discussions with Mike D’Antoni to become the associate head coach. Let’s start with the Brett Brown one. This guy has been put in one of the toughest positions in sports still works extremely hard and you can see it in player development. Perhaps the best example of this has been Robert Covington . Covington was in the D-League before the Sixers signed him a season ago. He has turned now into a nice “three and d” player, as he shot 37% from deep a season ago and is now among the league leaders in steals at 2.6 per game. In reality, the Brown re-signing does a lot more for PR that anything else. As I said earlier, this guy has been in a very bad position. If he is not with the Sixers, no one is going to give him a head coaching opportunity. By signing him, the Sixers show that they are loyal to Brett Brown and respect what he has had to go through these past three seasons. This shows agents and other players around the league that the Sixers have a loyal organization. If they do end up signing D’Antoni, that gives Brett Brown much more help. D’Antoni has been around the league for many years so he can offer advice, as well as coaching and player development help.
The next big thing that happened this past week was with Joel Embiid . A couple of months ago, The Cauldron came out with an article that talked about Joel Embiid ‘s issues. One of those issues being his “obsession” with drinking Shirley Temples. So Joel being Joel, he posted this picture on Twitter showing how ripped he is now with the hashtag “#shirleytempledidthis.” I found this to be very funny and just shows me that, contrary to popular belief, Joel Embiid does care. He wants to be great. I hope for his sake that he can get healthy and have a great career for all of the stuff he has been through. He is basically new to the United States, he is away from his family, his brother died, and the media has attacked him. Through all of that, he has continued to work hard. I commend him for that and hope that he can get and stay healthy. Now if the Sixers can get Ben Simmons, the hot takes will be coming in, well, hot.