Sixers’ Mindset Will Move Forward, But When?

The Sixers are finding themselves in a position where the direction of the rebuild could change one way or another. But will they make the move that pushes them forward, or wait it out?

Not many could exactly predict how much Joel Embiid would impact the Sixers so soon. 42 games into the season, Philadelphia finds themselves 5.5 games back. Playoffs are still a long shot, but with the promise the team is showing there are questions on how the team can shift to the next phase of the rebuild.

The Sixers are sitting on two young stars. Embiid is slowly getting to a point where he can play more minutes more often. Ben Simmons‘ recovery progressing is moving along smoothly so far. The team, even if they somehow get into the playoffs, will hold the potential for two lottery picks thanks to the pick swap with the Kings and the Lakers’ protected pick.

With the Sixers starting to look like a potential force, the question comes in whether they get aggressive and push for a final piece or wait to groom a young core.

Josh Eberly of HoopMag sparked the debate with a hypothetical trade that, like many times, split the Sixers fan base in half.

The deal would send the expiring contracts of Sergio Rodriguez, Nerlens Noel, and Ersan Ilyasova, paired with the two 2017 first round picks to Portland. The Sixers would get back the elite scoring Damian Lillard and versatile forward Al-Farouq Aminu.

Now, whether Portland would do this or not is up for debate. What is more intriguing is whether the Sixers would do it. Lillard is nearing 27-years old, but he’s under contract until the end of the 2020-2021 season. It would give the Sixers a huge third piece that can make an impact right away.

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Even if it’s not Lillard and some other big named-star, will Philadelphia be willing to ship two first-rounders? The 2017 NBA Draft class is full of potential starts in the back court position. Markelle Fultz, Malik Monk, Lonzo Ball, and Dennis Smith, Jr. all possess an ability to impact a team in major ways in the long term.

Will the Sixers be willing to take the time to groom another young player? Or will they push for an established star, not wanting to take years off of Embiid’s already disrupted career. Embiid is already reaching great feats on the basketball court, and the Sixers mustn’t fail to build around him and maximize what impact he could have for the organization.

He’s only 22-years old, but there’s an argument that wasting his early years may come back to bite the organization. Simmons was clearly the most NBA-ready rookie from this past summer’s draft class, and now with Embiid taking the reigns of “star”, he can come in more comfortably knowing that the weight of the franchise is not solely on him.

This leaves the Sixers with two stars, ready to reach the pinnacle of their games. Why not add another established stud to mask the growing pains of the other two, while making that playoff push.

Sam Hinkie’s process has exceeded it’s main goal. To find a star. The Sixers have landed two stars, and still hold the assets to either draft another one, or ship the assets in return for a polished star.

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The position the Sixers are in seem like a win-win. But one wrong move can set the rebuild back. How the team decides to move along this timeline could come in a move sooner than we think.