The 76ers drafted a potential franchise player in Ben Simmons, and it looks like Joel Embiid, the third overall pick of the 2014 draft, is finally healthy. They are ready to move on to the next level of their rebuilding plan.
But before they can do that, they have to address the logjam they have at center.
Embiid, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor all play that position and there won't be enough minutes for everyone next season. A quick look at the roster showed that, but now even general manager Bryan Colangelo is admitting publicly that someone has to go.
"I think right now it's best to say we like all of them, we want to see if we can make the most out of each of them in terms to their contributions to this team," Colangelo told SiriusXM NBA Radio. "But at the end of the day, the reality says one has to go at some point, but only when the deal is right."
It's rare to hear any executive be that honest, but again, it's obvious to everyone that the 76ers have to move one of their big men. Last season, it became clear that Okafor and Noel couldn't play together because neither can move down to power forward. Both struggle defending smaller players and neither can score outside the paint with any regularity.
Even if one of them were able to slide down, it wouldn't matter. Next season, that position is going to be filled by Simmons and the 12th pick of the 2014 draft, Dario Saric. Meanwhile, Embiid will take as many minutes as he can handle at center. There's just not enough playing time for everyone, and benching lottery picks is not a good way to maximize assets.
This is one of the side effects of former GM Sam Hinkie's strategy to always select the best player available throughout The Process. The 76ers had to pick five big men in the lottery in the past three drafts before finally finding two who they feel could be the cornerstones they were looking for all along. Now they need to make room for them, and if Embiid is truly healthy, that could mean moving both Okafor and Noel.
The problem is that because everybody knows they are available, their trade value is low. Colangelo even admitted that everyone is "trying to poach" one of them, because the writing is on the wall. Finding "the right deal" might prove hard.
The Celtics are reportedly interested in Okafor, but it's hard to see them part with a valuable asset like Marcus Smart or one of the Nets' picks to get it done, considering they know Philadelphia is motivated to move Okafor. Noel should draw interest from plenty of teams thanks to his ability on the defensive end, but he will become a restricted free agent next season, so that hurts his value even further.
As far as problems go, having too many good players at the same position isn't that damaging. If Embiid and Simmons prove to be the franchise-altering talents Philadelphia thinks they are, not getting equal value for Okafor and Noel won't really have a big impact on the 76ers' future.
But it's still a problem that Colangelo will have to deal with before the season begins. While it's a little strange that he's ready to admit that publicly, there's really no reason to be coy about it at this point.