The Sixers Are Making Deadspin Really Angry
Philadelphia 76ers’ Nerlens Noel, left, holds his head after scrambling for a ball against Houston Rockets’ Trevor Ariza, right, in the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Nov. 14, 2014, in Houston. The Rockets won 88-87.(AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
The folks at Deadspin have had it with the Sixers and their tank-job ways. We’ll give you three quotes from the piece, “The Philadelphia 76ers Are a Godless Abomination,” to convey the depth of anger — you might even share it by the end of the piece!
You almost certainly missed it over the weekend, but the Philadelphia 76ers made a big addition to their roster, scooping up free-agent forward Robert Covington. If you’ve never heard of Robert Covington, that’s because he’s an undrafted second-year player who had previously seen the floor in just seven NBA games, and the Sixers don’t really like signing players anyone has ever actually heard of. He’s also the ninth undrafted player that the Sixers have signed so far this year, the latest testament to just how little of a shit the Sixers give about even pretending to field a competent basketball team.
Well, hey, it’s not really that bad, is it?
Covington isn’t the only one. Having already employed nine undrafted players this season, the Sixers are just one more signing away from collecting more undrafted scrubs than any team in history. And wouldn’t you know it, they are reportedly interested in signing former Syracuse big man Arinze Onuaku, who went undrafted in 2010.
Well, yeah, that’s starting to sound pretty bad.
Fan satisfaction, entertainment value, and players who need to make a living never even enter into what the Sixers are trying to do, not when there’s an extra fraction of a percent to be had. That fraction may turn into a top lottery pick, which may turn into a great NBA player, who may eventually help turn the Sixers into a team worth watching — but all that will have been born out of one of the most grotesque displays of cynicism the NBA will ever see, and it’s bullshit.
There’s actually a lot more cursing in the piece, and why not? Last year was supposed to be the really awful year — nobody said anything about doing this two years in a row, did they? And if the idea is to stockpile talent to eventually win, what’s the deadline on tankable years? Is there a limit? How do we know when the Sixers have enough good young guys to try to stop sucking?
New Jersey is giving the Sixers $82 million to build their practice facility in Camden. Wonder what we could pay them to move the rest of the team across the river, too?
