In watching this year’s conference finals, it’s apparent how woefully ill-equipped the Sixers were for a deep playoff run. Sure, I will never forget the sheer euphoria of slaying the Celtics after rebounding from a 3-1 series deficit in the first round this spring, but cold water got thrown on that fun quite quickly given how dominant the Knicks were in sweeping them in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Knicks did the same thing to Cleveland and are now back in the NBA Finals for the first time
since 1999. In the West, the Thunder and Spurs are preparing for a Game 5 slugfest on Tuesday night in a series that’s destined to go the distance. The Sixers just aren’t able to compete with these teams as currently constructed and it’s becoming more and more clear nightly.
The problems of this Sixers season, and, really, this whole era for the franchise, predate the misfires from former president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, but the executive’s time running the show for the team did little to put them on the cutting edge of the sport. Morey’s time as an assistant in Boston’s front office and then as the lead exec in Houston had at the heart of the NBA’s analytical revolution, a figure who was on the lookout for what the future of basketball would be. The Sixers’ whole setup right now, in contrast, is outdated.
The Sixers and Morey’s quest for a “Big 3” is a relic that went out of vogue a couple presidential administrations ago. Looking at the three teams still standing this postseason in New York, Oklahoma City and San Antonio, the pieces are so different and result in an equation that has a championship answer, unlike what the Sixers are doing.
Sure, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama are poised to be MVP candidates for at least the next half-decade and Jalen Brunson is a star in his own right, but these teams are so deep and so well rounded that their bench glue guys are way better out there on the court than some actual Sixers starters and key cogs. Alex Caruso would be, what, the fourth-best player on the Sixers? Miles McBride would have a cult devoted to him here.
The Sixers haven’t prioritized depth in favor of their top-heavy roster, but, just as importantly, they haven’t prioritized the development needed in order to have a comprehensive collection of playoff talent.
No one defines that more than Jared McCain. Now with Oklahoma City, McCain looked like a legitimate building block in his limited action as a rookie in Philadelphia. Injuries derailed him, but he also just fell out of favor in head coach Nick Nurse’s rotation, as the team opted for low-ceiling players with no potential chance to be true risers in the future over McCain.
Now with the Thunder after a deadline deal that the fan base loathed and potentially on the verge of playing in the NBA Finals in his second pro season, McCain has been more than solid off the bench for Oklahoma City. He’s shooting 37.3 percent from deep in about 15 minutes of play per night. Is he going to be a star in this league? I’m doubtful there. Would he have helped the Sixers against both Boston and New York while on a cheap rookie deal with room to grow and mature as a player? The answer to that is unequivocally yes, but the organization was not willing to put him on that type of developmental path in a season where they only ended up as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.
For the more casual Sixers fan, a player in that mold who’s flown completely under the radar is the Spurs’ Julian Champagnie. The Sixers had him on a two-way contract through the middle of the 2023 season. He was waived after just playing seven total minutes as a Sixer, the Spurs scooped him up and he’s since started every playoff game for San Antonio this year. Champagnie never got a true chance to showcase himself in Philly and is now two wins away from starting in an NBA Finals game.
Under Morey, the Sixers were never good enough contenders to even make a conference finals, but tried their mightiest to do so. That’s valiant, but smart organizations across the league have illustrated that they can shoot for the Larry O’Brien Trophy with much greater accuracy than the Sixers ever could while also cultivating a base of young, cost-efficient players to counterbalance their top star. I have my doubts the next person in charge of the Sixers’ front office will rectify these issues, especially for a franchise that’s going on four-plus decades of mishaps, but here’s to hoping, I guess.
