
The Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid holds his left leg after injuring it in the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Sixers won, 93-92. (Yong Kim/Philadelphia Daily News/TNS)
76ers fans are fed up, and for good reason.
It all started with the acquisition of all-star center Andrew Bynum in 2012. So much hype and glamour surrounded Bynum. The 76ers held a press conference open to the fans at the National Constitution Center to welcome their new player to Philly. Fans packed the center cheering “Andrew Bynum!”
Cheering would stop after hearing Bynum was receiving treatment a week before training camp on both of his knees. Due to a chronic knee injury, Bynum never played a game for the 76ers.
The following year Sam Hinkie took over and “The Process” was born.
Three straight years of “tanking” took place where the 76ers would put together a roster of no-name guys to help stockpile draft picks.
After Hinkie was run out of town by the NBA last April, Bryan Colangelo was hired.
Colangelo received heat from the fans because of the way he handled the Joel Embiid injury situation in February.
Colangelo lied to the public by saying that Embiid did not have a partially-torn meniscus when he appeared on 94.1 WIP on Feb. 10. Colangelo said he suffered a knee contusion. He also said the injury was “day-to-day.” Embiid reportedly tore his meniscus Jan. 20 against the Portland Trail Blazers. The 76ers allowed him to play Jan. 27 in a nationally televised game. His season was over after that game. That is not “day-to-day.”
“Bryan Colangelo is an idiot,” said a 76ers fan on Twitter.
“I love Sixers, the team. Hate sixers the everything else,” said another fan on Twitter. “So unfair to such a loyal fan base. Always kept in the dark about everything,”
During his season-ending press conference, Colangelo described his medical staff as “world class.” This statement went under fire immediately due to the lack of announcement regarding the injury of Embiid along with the questionable handlings of the Ben Simmons and Jahlil Okafor injuries.
“Bryan Colangelo is horrible,” said Angelo Cataldi, sports radio personality for 94.1 WIP.
Talk about breaking the fans trust.
Since the 2013-2014 season, the 76ers combined record is 75-253. That ranks worst in the NBA…by far.
According to ESPN, the 76ers attendance ranked among the worst in the NBA from 2013- 2016. This past season attendance was ranked 18th.
The 76ers 28 wins this season is an 18-win improvement from last year.
To get back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2011-2012 season, health will be a key factor. Embiid and Simmons should be ready to go next season.
The 76ers will have over $28 million in cap space, the most in the NBA.
“We’re going to make it known that we’re a player in free agency,” Colangelo said during his season-ending press conference.
Another lottery pick will give the 76ers another young asset to play with Embiid and Simmons.
With scouts projecting this draft as a deep 2017 guard class, the 76ers could get their guard to play with Simmons and Embiid.
Kentucky shooting guard Malik Monk is projected to go to the 76ers in many mock drafts. At Kentucky, he averaged just under 20 points per game. In a total of 38 games, Monk was held to single digits only twice.
“If the Sixers just landed Monk next year and Joel Embiid is back and healthy and Ben Simmons is back and healthy, they start to become a dangerous team right away,” ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford said on the SEC Country podcast.
Monk’s Kentucky teammate De’Aaron Fox is an option for the 76ers.
“He’s the fastest guard in this draft,” said Ford. “He has elite speed.”
After leading his team to the Sweet 16, Fox’s stock has risen. According to Ford, Fox could go as high as four and as low as eight.
“I would be very pleased with either DeAaron Fox or Malik Monk ending up on the sixers…or both,” said a fan on Twitter.
Expectations will be higher for the 76ers after winning 28 games this season.
“For the draft, I believe the Sixers will hold the 4th overall pick and select Malik Monk due to their dire need of shooters,” said Steve Bertoline, who is a DCCC student and avid 76ers fan. “I think they will most likely copy their plan last year and sign one or two veteran free agents, while retaining some of their young role players. The team as a whole has huge potential to make a playoff run, and I don’t see any reason, beyond injuries, of why they should not have 40-plus wins.”
Contact Colin Anglim at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu