National Basketball Association

Philadelphia 76ers: Pure Talent Doesn't Fix The Problem

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Philadelphia 76ers have an overwhelmingly bright future from a pure talent perspective. Unfortunately, talent doesn’t solve everything.

The Philadelphia 76ers may have new management and a vast improvement in overall talent, but one of the same issues that plagued it before remains an issue entering 2016-17. Once again, Philadelphia has three starting-caliber centers and only one starting job to offer at the position.

As the front office bides its time, the centers are beginning to grow uneasy.

The 76ers have three Top 10 NBA Draft picks who all play center on the roster: Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, and Jahlil Okafor. All three have tremendous upside and immediate value.

According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Noel publicly addressed the, “Silly,” situation before media day.

“I think it’s just silly . . . this situation that we are in now with three starting centers,” Noel said on the eve of the Sixers’ media day. “With the departure of [former general manager and president] Sam Hinkie, I would have figured that management would be able to get something done this summer.”

If you ask general manager Bryan Colangelo, Noel offered an accurate evaluation of the current situation.

#Sixers B Colangelo on Noel disappointed still 3 bigs: 'It's understandable. I think Nerlens did a pretty good job sizing up what we had.'

— Tom Moore (@tmoore76ers) September 26, 2016

If you continued to ask Colangelo questions, you’d get a lesson in what not to say about your players.

Bryan Colangelo on #sixers logjam: "These are all young players not in a position to dictate circumstances."

— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) September 26, 2016

That response can’t possibly yield positive results.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what the 76ers currently have on the roster:

That’s both promising and disconcerting.

Embiid, Noel, and Okafor could start at center on multiple teams around the NBA. Embiid, Noel, and Okafor have also suffered season-ending injuries at some point over the past three seasons.

In other words, if Philadelphia keeps all three players on the roster, then it runs the risk that the injury-prone label will prove accurate and tank their market value.

Furthermore, neither Embiid nor Okafor project to be full-time power forwards. Thus, even if they play sporadic minutes together, it’s easy to see how both players could be exploited in this era of stretch 4s and small-ball.

Even if it does work out—and Noel projects to be a capable defensive 4—that conflicts with the development of Dario Saric.

The ideal scenario for Philadelphia would be starting Ben Simmons, Saric, and one of the three centers alongside one another. If Saric can play the 3 and Simmons can run point, then yes, this situation changes.

Even if that were to transpire, at least one of the centers on the roster would still be the odd man out.

Say Simmons starts at point guard, Saric at small forward, and either Embiid, Noel, or Okafor plays the 5. That would leave one of the remaining two centers to play power forward.

That would also leave a Top 10 NBA Draft pick with star potential on the bench—a scenario that would inevitably cause trouble in the locker room.

For those who argue that it wouldn’t be problematic, Noel’s comments should be all you need to read. He didn’t say anything terrible, but he did point out the elephant in the room: these are young players.

Veterans sacrifice ego for victory, but young players on a team that appears to still be a year or two away from thinking playoffs tend to do the opposite.

Philadelphia has improved its roster, but talent doesn’t fix everything. Simmons and Saric are widely regarded as players with realistic star potential, and Embiid is considered to be of the same caliber.

Philadelphia has even improved the quality of its role players.

Team chemistry can either make or break a team’s postseason aspirations, however, which is why the 76ers need to get something done before it’s too late.