Brookover: Sixers' chances not good in free agency
The NBA's free-agent market opens Friday, which is the kind of news during Sam Hinkie's brief tenure as the 76ers' general manager that would have triggered enormous yawns. Thanks to his manifesto-accompanied resignation, we'll never know when Hinkie would have added free agency to his list of ways for rebuilding the franchise.
The NBA's free-agent market opens Friday, which is the kind of news during Sam Hinkie's brief tenure as the 76ers' general manager that would have triggered enormous yawns. Thanks to his manifesto-accompanied resignation, we'll never know when Hinkie would have added free agency to his list of ways for rebuilding the franchise.
Hinkie's replacement and the coach he failed to mention in his 13-page departure letter, however, seem eager to at least dip their feet into the free-agent baby pool this summer.
"We're one of the teams that have flexibility in terms of free agency," general manager Bryan Colangelo said Friday at the introductory news conference for first-round picks Ben Simmons and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. Later he said, "We're not necessarily going to go out and spend and sign any crazy deals, but if the right piece is available via trade or via free agency that we feel will put us where we need to go and in the right direction to add to this young mix of players, we're going to do that."
Colangelo talked a lot Friday, but he did not really say anything.
Brett Brown's take on free agency, meanwhile, might be a bit delusional.
"We're definitely going to be in the free-agent game," the Sixers coach said during the season. "We think we have a lot to offer from practice facilities to . . . young players that have an upside that everybody recognizes. We're very confident that we can attract some free agents to come in here."
The Sixers, of course, were also confident that they would be able to use either Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel to move back into the top eight picks after they made Simmons the first overall selection Thursday in the draft, but Colangelo, by his own admission, got a feel for how other teams viewed his players. Since no trade was made, it's obvious that he did not see things exactly the same way as some of his peers.
The general manager practiced patience and left the table with his trade chips still in hand. That's fine. If Brown could deal with coaching a long list of NBA vagabonds through a 47-199 record the last three seasons, Colangelo should have had no problem walking away from some deals that did not favor the 76ers in the long run.
To think that free agency is going to offer a viable solution for what the Sixers need to do next, however, is a giant reach.
Brown and Colangelo love talking about the new practice facility on the Camden waterfront that is expected to open later this year. It will definitely be a welcome and long overdue addition for the franchise, but to think it will have much impact on attracting free agents is a mistake. The best players in every professional sport want two things: money and a chance to win an NBA championship. Nice digs along the Delaware River rank way down the list.
The Sixers, with the third-highest total of salary-cap space in the NBA according to spotrac.com, have plenty of money, but in order to get even the second tier of free agents right now they are going to have to overpay.
Will they want to do that for guys like Sacramento's Rajon Rondo, Charlotte's Nicolas Batum, Golden State's Harrison Barnes, the Los Angeles Lakers' Jordan Clarkson or Dallas' Chandler Parsons?
Given the Sixers' need for a veteran presence, the 30-year-old Rondo might be the best option of the bunch. He has had some character issues, but he is coming off a solid season with a dysfunctional team in Sacramento. Being the veteran in charge of a team with young talent might be good for his career. Rondo reportedly wanted to play in New York, but the Knicks now have Derrick Rose and the young Sixers are a much better option than the broken Brooklyn Nets.
It's entirely possible, of course, that the 76ers, despite their deep pockets and good intentions, will not be able to convince a difference-making free agent to come to Philadelphia. Because of the current collective bargaining agreement, the free-agent system is rigged to allow teams to keep their best players.
Colangelo, in all likelihood, will have to continue to shop one of his big men and maybe a future draft choice in an effort to land the point guard, the shooter and the accomplished veteran the franchise wants and needs.
If that's the case, that could be OK, too. The 76ers' free-agent history is littered with disastrous decisions. Remember Charles Shackleford? Matt Geiger? Scott Williams?
It's impossible to forget them no matter how hard we try.
@brookob