This article is springing from this article I read today from Sports Illustrated. It was about problems coming from the Sixers organization. Now I will say that some of the things he said are quite concerning. Most concerning was the part involving injured center Joel Embiid , who has had attitude problems regarding his diet and rehabbing of his foot. That is a concern that has been well documented since about mid-year when Embiid was sent home from a west coast road trip. My whole issue with the article was when he said that Josh Harris, part owner, was upset about the Michael Carter-Williams trade because he wanted to market him with Noel. That sounds like the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Firstly, if he was upset, he needs to understand that player personnel comes before marketing, every day of the week. Secondly, Harris knew what he was getting into when he hired Hinkie. He knew that there would be a lot of trading for assets and a lot of losing or “tanking.” So trading an overrated point guard for a potentially better pick should not have come as a surprise to him. Also, the Sixers are worth two or three times more than when he bought them. If he cared about the money aspect that much, he would not risk losing revenue by tanking.
I guess the reason that I am writing this is that this article rubbed me the wrong way. I can speak for Philadelphia sports fans when I say that we have been victims of lazy journalism for a long time now.
To preface this, I am not a journalist. I am a blogger. I have not put in the years of education and training that the people writing for ESPN or covering the teams have. That being said, I can be critical when I think that they are just perpetuating the same old adage about the teams and the city.
For example, one of the things that gets to me the most is the notion that Philadelphia has the meanest fans in the world. I cringe every time something is said about Philly fans on Sports Center or some other big media outlet. Do you want to know why? It is because it always comes back to the story about how Philadelphia fans threw snowballs at Santa. This happened back in 1968! Give me a break!
One of my favorite stories about the Philadelphia fans stereotype involves Skip Bayless. I am just going to leave that legendary exchange with Mike Missanelli right here as it will take me too long to explain it. Even some of the people that write for this very site may think that Philadelphia sports fans are sinister and evil. I cannot blame them because of the national media. It is one of those things that you have to live with to understand how annoying it is. Sure there have been some bad moments. I mean, there are bad situations in any fanbase. All you have to do is google “San Francisco fans.”
Back to the Sixers now, the reason this article started. Some national pundits bash them no matter what they do. For example, look at Tom Penn. Let’s remember that he was in the running for the job of general manager until Sam Hinkie was hired. Here is what Penn said last May (via NJ.com):
You just have to look at what happened with this plan. Look, they had this slew of picks and they have nothing to show for it. (Joel) Embiid was hurt last year, Nerlens Noel missed his whole first season and then came back and had an OK year his second year, Dario Saric was picked and is still somewhere in Europe playing with no end in sight to come play for their roster. They had one win in Michael Carter-Williams, and what did they do? They traded him away for another they are highly unlikely to get. So they are further away than ever in Philadelphia. It’s been one of the most curious cases of this “super tanking” that they have been doing and continue to do. I don’t see them anywhere near the playoffs.”
Anyone who knows anything about basketball knows that Nerlens Noel was a defensive force last year. To say he had an “ok” year is just being a hater. Dario Saric will come over nex tyear most likely, he just has to finish out his contract overseas. And really Tom? Michael Carter-Williams? He ranked 38th among point guards in player efficiency rating and 68th in true shooting percentage. I will take a high Lakers pick for him any day of the week. This is just the case of a guy who isn’t doing any work in evaluating a team’s situation. Although, as I stated earlier, the Embiid thing is an issue.
I am sure I am not the only one who is annoyed by this. Especially when it is about your teams and your city. I respect the job that journalists do, when they put in the work. I would love to hear your stories about your teams getting disrespected for the same thing when it is not reality. Who knows, maybe “What Grinds My Gears” will turn into a series.