confidential to those pissed about the Sixers' pick

[J_Cuz31]

youre right. the sixers ineptitude goes far beyond the selection.

[rothdawg]

What would you have done differently? Enlighten us.

[Ground_Meat]

People would have bitched if they passed on Okafor. Negadelphia.

This. There was NO ONE else to take at that spot. Unless they had a MASSIVE offer (such as a top 10 pick in the same draft, another 1st rounder or 2, plus an above-average veteran)...there was no other choice.

[Ground_Meat]

To be frank, it isnt about Okafor as a player, its about Whats becoming very painfully obvious with each passing day: Sam Hinkie has no plan to make the Sixers a winning organization[/U].

Examples...?

[Irish George]

your post is total bullshit at almost every level

Seriously, Embiid and Noel are far better defensive players. I cant even see how thats debatable. I understand that okafor has some real nice moves around the basket but some of that is gonna be negated against better players in the NBA. So yeah, Noel and Embiid (if healthy) are just as good.

I'm sorry but a GM who keeps shuffling players at the same position as his team piles up losing seasons doesnt impress me. He could have maneuvered down and picked up a player that meets his teams needs better.

This idea that they have to take certain players every year because everyone else sucks will be revealed to be incredibly short sighted in three years.

A guy like Hezonja will be helping his team win games while the Sixers are still trying to get fair market value for whichever Center they can move from their roster.

Hinkie just isnt as smart as you think.

Let's start with your putting words in my mouth. Not a fan of tanking and never ever said Hinkie is smart. I said I like the pick. I like Okufor.

They did not draft this guy for defense, they drafted him for his hands, moves around the basket, scoring in the post and ability to deal with double-teams. Good defensive big men are much easier to come by than stud low post scorers.

where, exactly have you seen Hezonga play that you can state declaritively he will be helping his team win games? Really...what about his game do you like and how did you come to this conclusion?

Back up your words instead of arguing points I never made.

[McCarthy12]

Two years in a row there were three studs followed by unknowns. Two years in a row they got one of them. After Noel's development last season you have to give them the benefit of doubt. I wanted Russell but he wasn't there. Have to take Okafor. People would have gone berserk if the passed on him. I'd rather have three studs and have to figure out how to use them than miss on the pick.

[McCarthy12]

Didn't you say Wiggins would be a bust?

[rothdawg]

Two years in a row there were three studs followed by unknowns. Two years in a row they got one of them. After Noel's development last season you have to give them the benefit of doubt. I wanted Russell but he wasn't there. Have to take Okafor. People would have gone berserk if the passed on him. I'd rather have three studs and have to figure out how to use them than miss on the pick.

The only other option would've been to trade back and get Johnson or Winslow. But who knows what the teams in the 8-10 range were offering.

[McCarthy12]

I think you gotta take the guy who coukd have been taken first overall with noone batting an eye.

[J_Cuz31]

Let's start with your putting words in my mouth. Not a fan of tanking and never ever said Hinkie is smart. I said I like the pick. I like Okufor.

They did not draft this guy for defense, they drafted him for his hands, moves around the basket, scoring in the post and ability to deal with double-teams. Good defensive big men are much easier to come by than stud low post scorers.

where, exactly have you seen Hezonga play that you can state declaritively he will be helping his team win games? Really...what about his game do you like and how did you come to this conclusion?

Back up your words instead of arguing points I never made.

Hezonja is a strong shooter which the Sixers have needed since Hinkie arrived. Those low post points are gonna be real expensive with no perimeter play to speak of.

[J_Cuz31]

Two years in a row there were three studs followed by unknowns.

Thats a story thats being pitched by some but it never turns out to be the case. After all, Gordon and Smart look like solid players with upside and there will be some players who emerge from the group after okafor who emerge to be good players. Im simply not buying that story line as much as many because three years down the line there are almost ALWAYS paul georges and steph currys who dispel that line of thinking. At some point the Sixers have to show they have the balls to go and find those guys.

[Ground_Meat]

Thats a story thats being pitched by some but it never turns out to be the case. After all, Gordon and Smart look like solid players with upside and there will be some players who emerge from the group after okafor who emerge to be good players. Im simply not buying that story line as much as many because three years down the line there are almost ALWAYS paul georges and steph currys who dispel that line of thinking. At some point the Sixers have to show they have the balls to go and find those guys.

Have you ever heard the term "crapshoot" ?

[Irish George]

Answer the question

Hezonja is a strong shooter which the Sixers have needed since Hinkie arrived. Those low post points are gonna be real expensive with no perimeter play to speak of.

What are you, just a troll? Never really read your posts before.

How many times have you seen this guy play? Bet you don't even know what league he played in. strong shooter? How, specifically, does his game translate to the NBA? As for Sixers needs, they have needed a big man with Okufors skills long before Hinkie got here

[Drama Queen]

I can see people being disappointed because russell would have been an excellent catalyst for this Sixers team. However, adding pieces around big men is easier than the other way around. The Allen Iverson area is a testimony to that.

When the Sixers get the parameter players in place ( and they will), there is no f-n way a team like Golden State can stop Embiid, Noel and Okafor in the paint. Also, the Sixers did what they had to do, and that was taking Okafor.

[udontknowme]

And it's a major assumption to think they even keep all three!

If Saric continues to mature into a stud, which if you follow him he is, size on that team will be insane. All they'll need is a good point and a great shooting 2. If Embiid ever gets healthy, another gamble, that should be simple to find.

If people are worried about Okafors defense, they shouldn't be, with either Noel at the four or Embiid at the 5, shot blocking and defense will be pretty solid if not great.

If Embiid is healthy, in two years I'd expect they move Noel, and then go with Embiid at the 5, Okafor at the 4, Saric-3, and two guys yet to be seen, that should be easy to either pick up in free agency or draft with the plethora of firsts round picks next year.

The Sixers weren't even the worst team in the league last year, when they were stockpiling draft picks, had their first pick sitting out, and were clearing cap space. As far as I see it, the plan is working, and in Hinkie I trust. Who'd you rather be right now, a Sixers or Knicks fan?