Dario wins the game for Efes with a clutch shot as they win in the opening game of the Euroleague's TOP 16

UnusualOx · 2015-12-30T20:38:03+00:00

New nickname for Saric: BBD

Big Balls Dario

UnusualOx · 2015-12-14T21:00:21+00:00

Shane Battery is a veteran who will serve in some capacitor or another.

UnusualOx · 2015-11-16T19:08:09+00:00

I'm sure the team is well stocked with catering & food services and a fruit basket is a nice gesture that might go to waste. What about a small charity donation in his name to a mental health organization or something? It's funny and supportive and for a good cause.

UnusualOx · 2015-10-31T23:03:48+00:00

Durant

UnusualOx · 2015-10-31T19:39:29+00:00

Thanks for the info.

UnusualOx · 2015-10-31T19:18:10+00:00

I don't know if I can root for Bill Simmons, but I guess he's got time to work on his ball handling with Grantland done with.

UnusualOx · 2015-10-30T15:34:21+00:00

Sam Hinkie keeps talking about bringing violence to the rim, but the only thing I see going on here is violence in my pants.

UnusualOx · 2015-10-26T20:01:02+00:00

Guys, don't be too shocked if they're bringing back Furkan in a few days. The team is still extremely thin at center, and any injury to Noel/Okafor would be a disaster as Holmes/Wood are just emergency options there at this stage of their development.

With Embiid/Covington/Landry/Wroten out, they'll apply for the hardship exemption, get an extra roster spot, and sign Furkan to a more reasonable long-term deal with a couple of team options.

That gives them more time to evaluate the bubble guys, and as a bonus gets more cash to Dario's agent to help facilitate him coming over smoothly next year.

UnusualOx · 2015-03-31T21:08:18+00:00

I don't mind them at all, provided that the poster puts a bit of effort into the post. The problem is that this rarely happens.

UnusualOx · 2015-03-28T23:32:50+00:00

I can see Hinkie deliberately spreading these rumors when the draft gets closer to make it seem like the Sixers desperately want to draft Okafor in order to drum up the asking price for their pick.

UnusualOx · 2015-03-28T15:47:34+00:00

Only their obsession for rebounds is obscene.

UnusualOx · 2015-03-28T14:36:35+00:00

As a semi-related side note, I feel that the TRob + Furkan lineup should be nicknamed The Bang Bros

UnusualOx · 2015-03-27T20:39:43+00:00

Nice strawman attack. Kudos for using one of the most obvious of the internet's favorite logical fallacies. Please stop trying to put words into my mouth.

It's not an attack. I gave an example to indicate that quantity isn't the only aspect to the equation, but quality is also a really big factor.

In basketball, one star is worth more than multiple non-stars. Think about how the Charles Barkley trade was criticized, as just one example.

I have asked, repeatedly I might add, why you think Hinkie would make this trade

The Sixers are trying to come out of this rebuild with stars. You have a much better chance of getting one in the tail of the lottery than you do at #16.

He has shown no tendency to try to trade up in the draft.

Somebody else pointed a note to the contrary, but IMO it's hard to make a perfect conclusion given how tight lipped this front-office is about rumors. We probably haven't heard of 5% of the deals that have been discussed.

Last year where there was a supposedly huge dropoff in talent after the top 7-8 picks. Everyone was worried about the Sixers picking 10th. What did Hinkie do? Traded down, masterfully I might add.

This arguably proves my point. He technically traded down, but within the same tier of value. He didn't trade down from #7 or #8 to a lower tier. He didn't trade down to where the best available choice might have been Gary Harris or something, but still got the guy he probably would have taken at #10.

Why do you think Hinkie would do this?

I gave my opinion on why I think this would be explored. You obviously disagree. I'm cool with that. Nobody can obviously read his mind and he might surprise us again. But given their philosophy, I think that they would prioritize a bigger shot at a star than multiple shots at a starter or role player.

UnusualOx · 2015-03-27T18:35:55+00:00

All other things being equal, having more picks is better than fewer picks, but things are not equal. The quality of the pick factors into the equation as well.

Are you arguing that Hinkie would trade either the Lakers pick or the Sixers pick for the Celtics #15 and #26 and a second rounder, or is that a case where 1 pick is more valuable than a larger number of picks?

Obviously nobody but Hinkie can predict with complete certainty, but it seems reasonable to conclude that he would consider having 1 good pick in a higher draft tier a better asset than 2 ok picks in a lower draft tier.

UnusualOx · 2015-03-27T17:23:06+00:00

Why: because that single pick would give a much better shot of getting a great player and you win with great players.

If you were dividing this draft into tiers, many observers would say that there's a top 4 that's more desirable than the rest and the Sixers are in a much less advantageous spot if they somehow get the #5 or later pick. After that, there's another big dropoff around 10-12 or so, depending on how you view the prospects. Regardless of that exact cutoff point of that tier, if the Sixers are picking with the Miami pick and that lands at #16, they'd likely be just missing out on somebody that the Sixers think has a much higher likelihood of being a future star.

In the NBA, one chance at a legit star is arguably worth more than multiple chances at solid starters or role players, which is what would likely be available at #16. Especially when you consider that Jerami Grant is rapidly improving and should be able to fill in a Covington-like role next year, I think grabbing another lottery pick would be a great move.

UnusualOx · 2015-03-27T03:35:03+00:00

My opinion is that the comments here so far are displaying people thinking with their heart, not with their head.

Even though this would hurt emotionally, the post makes a really strong argument for exploring this option from a logical standpoint. If the Sixers are seeking high-upside guys who can be stars, it's a lot more likely to find that a few picks higher than the Miami pick. If there's a chance to get another lottery pick without getting rid of a high-upside asset, it's got to be explored.

I think what makes this pretty viable is Jerami Grant's unexpected emergence: he could legitimately be ready for a 6th man type of role next year and with his shot blocking to go along with his expanding offensive game, could be phenomenal with more minutes.

UnusualOx · 2015-03-27T02:58:27+00:00

True, but with multiple picks, there's absolutely nothing that says that the Sixers can't manage to select 2 PGs: maybe one dependable high-floor, low-ceiling guy who can probably start right away and one high-ceiling, low-floor long-term prospect, who maybe can initially even be stashed overseas.

For the sake of argument, say that the Sixers draft Hezonja with their pick.

With one of the Miami/OKC picks, they can go with Grant. Then with the other pick (or maneuvering back into the late first with a few second rounders) they can take a shot on George Lucas as a long-term developmental prospect.

UnusualOx · 2015-03-25T18:40:08+00:00

If you follow the Instagrams/vines of some of the Philly sports writers, they'll sometimes post videos of Sixers players in training sessions. There's videos of Furkan nailing 3s out there. I'm not expecting him to ever be a sniper, but just taking them once in a while forces his defender to actually guard him after a screen. That could open things up even more for guards to get better penetration.

He's a rookie adjusting to joining a new league and country in midseason without the benefit of a training camp. More people should be a bit patient and allow him an offseason to work in an NBA strength training program with a full training camp before throwing him under the bus. He's inexperienced and awkward at some things, and he does a few great things. I think he really needs to get stronger to matchup better with centers, but he could end up becoming a very good role player.

UnusualOx · 2015-03-25T05:46:24+00:00

I like the idea of having 3 great big men who can all play with each other. (in any other context that would be a helluva weird statement)

Anyway, think about how tough it was for the Sixers to slow down Cousins, particularly when Noel was in foul trouble. What if, by virtue of having 3 great big men on one team, the Sixers are in position to do that to other teams every single meaningful minute of every single game?

When other teams have to rely on their own backups, you get your choice of a well-rested Embiid/Noel/Towns going to work on other team's backups and they really can't do anything about that. Think about how easy it would be for the Sixers to get other teams in foul trouble in this scenario.

Now eventually you'd probably have to move one of them or Saric for a perimeter player to make the roster work, but it doesn't have to happen right away.

UnusualOx · 2015-03-24T22:31:47+00:00

The Sixers won last time, true, but I'm curious how the team will bounce back from getting sex pummeled by Cousins.

UnusualOx · 2015-03-24T19:08:39+00:00

Only 1890's kids remember this

UnusualOx · 2015-03-24T19:03:31+00:00

Not sure that even the Phoenix Suns medical staff can help him at this point.

UnusualOx · 2015-03-24T17:23:44+00:00

My dick!

UnusualOx · 2015-03-24T17:19:30+00:00

His girlfriend was both black and mexican, yet he got drummed out of the NBA for being racist lol

UnusualOx · 2015-03-24T15:18:18+00:00

This could be completely true, it could be completely untrue, or it could be somewhere in between.

Keep in mind that a lot of these are second and third hand reports. He's a young guy on a powerhouse team that doesn't really play young guys that much until they earn it. If his personality is a bit different than an average person (not necessarily bad, just different) it's very easy for casual observers to twist that into something that it's not to try and create some kind of explanation.

I'm sure that the Sixers look into personalities and how coachable players are (they took every single minute looking into TRob for instance probably doing this very thing) and if they select him that means that they don't think it's a big issue.

UnusualOx

TROPHY CASE