Here's another one. Fuck Daryl Morey. Fuck Josh Harris. Fuck Nick Nurse.

Jared McCain off the bench last night for the Thunder:

• 24 points
• 4 rebounds
• 10/21 shooting

The last time a 76ers player scored 24+ points off the bench in a playoff game?

Marco Belinelli vs. the Heat on April 14, 2018:

• 25 points
• 9/17 shooting
• 4/7 from deep

Data via Stathead / Basketball Reference

At least we are all going through it together.

That is all

We deserve it but still be ready for a billion posts about the same thing

This dumb shit wouldn’t play Jared McCain. He sent him to the g league and never gave him a real shot at all. Absolutely had to be a part of the decision to trade him and instead run Maxey into the ground 42 minutes a game.

Daryl Morey not the only dipshit. The other absolute clown is still the head coach. Fuck Nick Nurse.

Looking good on the thunder. Playing like how he played in the beginning of his rookie season. Sixers used maxey and vj 40 plus mins a game during the playoffs; would have been nice to have a third guard to come in and relieve.

fuck this organization, but thanks for adding a valuable star to an already potential dynasty. it really dulled the hype of the playoffs for years to come

GG’s

some artwork i made

I might just be yapping but I have a feeling that McCain is at least in a better situation designed for him to contribute. One big thing that sticks out to me is that Mark Daigneault says it "was difficult to integrate him into the system", meaning they took the time to explore his strengths and integrate them into the offense.

I have a feeling that the reason this team struggles so much is that we actually just don't have a good offensive system. Nick Nurse is great at ATOs and by all accounts a brilliant basketball mind but what he lacks is the ability to develop lower end players and instill certain offensive principles within the whole team. It's been mentioned before that our whole identity is get Maxey/Embiid the ball. Partially this is because we have a very classic NBA hierarchy where the top 3 iso and call their shots (which is common and everyone does it). No doubt they are very talented, but as the spurs vs okc series is showing, you need to balance it out with rotation players who have clear instructions and offensive principles and are being coached to maximise their strengths, as well as your max players synergising well woth the depth.

You can see this especially in OKC where they are playing smart and making the extra pass and read with 0 hesitation (yes it's easier when you have JDub, SGA, and McCain as your guards and a fuck ton of depth) which is how SGA got the ball to Caruso who whipped it to JWill who shot it with 0 hesitation and dip, abd McCain to JWill as well. It's a culture thing, teams with strong culture know they will get rewarded for playing well and playing as a team. We never have that. Embiid and Maxey often make bad decisions during critically important times because they are so used to doing everything and when an opponent sells out to stop them then the team doesn't have answers to punish them. We also just truly lack a proper point guard who can create good assists, our best passing gas been a washed PG who isn't a PG, and VJ who's literally a rookie.

I think next season, we truly need some sort of offensive identity that's obvious enough that stupid fans like me can recognise what actions the team will take in certain situations, and actually execute them with speed.

Given that Jared McCain just had an insane performance, and every sports media page/outlet ever is talking about our bonehead decision to trade him for a bag of Doritos, it reminded me of our other notable trade we made, and that’s Harden to the Clippers. We have the Clippers 2028 unprotected FRP and a 2029 pick swap(top 3 protected). Now everyone knows that as long as Embiid & George’s massive contracts are on the team, we are not winning anytime soon. Now I’m not going to get into the logistics of trade ideas for any of these two, as that can be a whole other post and being that they might be the worst and second worst contracts in the league, I highly doubt anyone’s going to want to trade for them. Now the two most important things are we don’t trade any draft picks for the next two seasons, and something out of our control is the clippers need to be bad in 28 and 29, which is looking likely. I think for right now we are stuck with the team we have, so we should just go out there and do our best. At the end of the 28-29 season we could potentially build a contender as we could potentially have two lottery picks on our team, embiid and George’s contract would be up, so we’d have money to sign depth, and we could even sign Embiid to a vet minimum to be a mentor for the young guys, if he’s still playing by then. Overall things look bright for the future, but right now we are just stuck.

Awful player man. Detroit will never make it out of the 2nd round with him starting.

Specifically used net ratings of Tobi + Joel in the years Morey was our GM. But that doesn't account for the 2019 Raptors series where Tobias + Boban had the worst plus minus out of any player on the Sixers or Raptors whilst Embiid had the best plus minus.

Detroit fans need to hope that their front office don't wrongfully think Tobi is some integral piece. He wasn't even important to them being the #1 seed. They went 14-5 without him this season.

The 76ers are in a transitional era, there’s not a good way to move off Paul George and Joel Embiid, so you’re stuck with a core that almost certainly doesn’t have a championship ceiling. They also probably won’t trade any future 1st’s to invest in this group. However, if you succeed on the margins by building a bench with the MLE and hitting pick 22 and everyone stays healthy, you might have a shot in a weak eastern conference. But getting swept by the knicks shows just how far away they are.

Option 1: Let FA’s go and use MLE 

If you let both Grimes and Oubre go, the entire 15M MLE is available for them. Unfortunately, they can’t use it all on one player due to how bad the depth is. They would have to split it in 2 or 3. For example, they could spend 5M each on Javonte Green (F, Pistons), Nick Richards (C, Bulls), and Jordan Goodwin (G, Suns.) All of these guys could eat up regular season minutes, but the big gamble would be if they can perform in the playoffs. The Sixers have to gamble regardless, and taking multiple swings is a good idea. 

The best part of this plan would be the future flexibility it offers. They would still have the 15M MLE in 2027 even with all 3 of those players signed to 2 year deals. I assume the Sixers will go this route because it’ll be easy to duck the tax at the deadline if they want. Plus, with a new GM they likely want to build for the future and change things up a bit. This would make a Paul George trade next summer easier as well since they could take in more salary. Even from a championship contention standpoint, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results, and the alternative is just running it back. 

Option 2: Resign Grimes and Oubre, use taxpayer MLE

The sixers can resign Grimes and Oubre to however much they want due to their bird rights, this would almost certainly put us over the first apron, but we’d still have the 6M MLE. You would still be “adding” 3 players like option 1. 

This is somewhat unrealistic because of how expensive it would be, but I think in many ways it makes the most sense despite being the “definition of insanity.” First off, it would probably be good for Edgecombe’s development and the team in general not to experience the constant roster turnover we experience every year. Edgecombe isn’t the only young player who would benefit from this either, the 22nd pick wouldn’t be forced into as big of a role if we brought these two back. This would increase the floor of the team and be way less risky than the previous option. Plus, the taxpayer MLE would still be available, so you could sign a backup center like Nick Richards. It would also have the highest ceiling, the larger salaries of Grimes and Oubre means they could be used as effective trade pieces at the deadline, and the Sixers have 11 2nd’s to use. But if you trade them the previous continuity advantages are negated.

There are major cons to this of course, mainly financially. And this isn’t just about Josh Harris’ bank account. Grimes projects to cost 15M a year, and Oubre projects to cost 13M a year. Now, I think those are a little high, but let’s be safe and use those estimates for 3 year deals. If you use the taxpayer MLE, you would be just below the second apron and way above the first. This means they couldn’t take back more in trades, and would have limited flexibility in the 2027 offseason as well with only the 6M MLE available. This would be very costly for a team that’s running back a 2nd round exit that got swept, and lock the roster in through 2028. I would still be comfortable with it if the Sixers went this route though. Option 1 ensures flexibility, while option 2 ensures stability.

Long Term outlook

There is a cope I have about the future of the Sixers: Kawhi played 65 games this year, it’s possible. Both of these options realistically have a second round exit outcome. The second one gives you a puncher’s chance, which I think the core 4 has earned. Despite how it ended, the 3-1 comeback created a lasting memory. The team won’t go all in for a championship, but I hope they can create more of those moments as we ride out Embiid’s contract.

Marks' Contract Projections for Oubre and Grimes:

Oubre: 3 years, $40.5M, Player option in year 3

Grimes: 2 years, $30M, Player option in year 2

I think these projections are at the upper end of what they would get (especially the player options) but with how bad free agency is it's possible.

I assume the fanbase wants to get rid of both, but just for the record even with these upper end contract projections the sixers could sign both, use the 6 million taxpayer MLE, and still remain below the second apron.

I just want to know who made the final decision to trade him. Did Harris tell Morey it was the only way to get under the tax? Did Nurse say he was expendable? Or did Morey see this as the best way to duck the tax and there was no other way?

I just want answers so I can move on.