If/when this infernal lockout finally, mercifully comes to an end and the Sixers are expected to put a basketball team on the floor, Doug Collins is going to have some juggling to do. Barring a minor miracle, he's going to have much the same roster this season as he had in 2010-2011. While last season was about feeling out his players and gauging their roles, this year he's going to need to tweak things to make them work better. Unfortunately, he might just find he's got a lopsided squad.
When you look at the bigs, you've got Hawes (probably, unfortunately), Brand, the Voose, Thad (maybe) and Speights. That's pretty much it. Collins was able to cobble together a rotation out of pretty much the same level of talent last year. He may even have another warmish body thrown in there if they can grab a has-been big off the scrap heap.
The overall dearth of talent up front makes Collins' job pretty easy. Brand and Thad are the only legitimate players, they're the only guys who have to get heavy minutes on a nightly basis, so he can mix and match between the others for the 30 or so Thad and Brand won't play of the 96 total available at the four and five.
When we look on the perimeter, though, things get complicated. If you're assuming Evan Turner's role will be increased this season, and if it isn't, something went seriously wrong, then you're talking about Iguodala, Turner, Meeks, Williams and Jrue all needing minutes. Iguodala and Jrue are both going to be playing 35+, that's not even up for debate. That leaves 74 minutes total for Turner, Meeks and Lou. Probably 48 minutes at the two and maybe a dozen at the point and the three.
If you split those minutes three ways, you've got 24.666666667 each. If one of those guys goes over, it comes out of what's left for the other two. Looking at salary, production and upside, you'd pretty much have to say you want to see Turner leading this group. At least you'd have to admit it would be in the team's best interest if his play demanded about 30/game. One thing points toward a heavier workload for Turner, he's the only viable option to back up Iguodala at the three, so that's 12 minutes right there. Plus there are times when the team goes small, so you can play AI9 at the four and Turner at the three.
I highly doubt Lou's minutes will drop from the the 23.3/game he played last year, so what gives? Where do the extra minutes for Turner come from? I guess the only logical answer is Jodie. The problem with that is Doug Collins really values Jodie's shooting to the point where unless Turner comes back with not only a fixed shot, but a dangerous three-point shot, it's hard to predict a cut in Jodie's minutes.
I suppose when the rubber meets the road, Turner's versatility would probably allow him to get the minutes piecemeal at the three positions. He's the only one of the three who can handle the requisite duties at PG, SG and SF (though how well he handles those duties is up for debate).
There's a larger issue at work here, though. The Sixers used the #2 pick on Turner. They pretty much used him as a jack-of-all trades in his rookie season, but bigger things were expected of him, and they probably still are. If we go through another season with him getting spot minutes all over the floor, will that be the path that he's on for the entirety of his career? Or maybe to use a little bit more of a level head, will it be that much harder to set a position and a role for him down the road if he's jerked around for another season?
The frustrating thing, at this point, is that I don't think Collins or the coaching staff did anything wrong with Turner last year. They gave him plenty of opportunities to stake his claim in a number of different roles, and he simply didn't produce. Or he didn't produce better than the guys he was competing with. If he's given the same chance this season and he again falls short, you can't blame Collins. He's only going into the second year of his contract, he's only 23. There's plenty of time for Turner to become whatever he's going to become, and it might even be easier on Doug Collins in terms of managing the rotation if he doesn't make a leap this season, but it won't be better for the team.
In a perfect world, Turner's play will cause problems for Collins. In a perfect world, someone will lose minutes to Turner and someone may need to be moved. If that dream is going to come true, though, Turner will have to grab the bull by the horns. Otherwise, we're probably going to see a replay of the 2010-2011 season in more ways than one.
Hell of a post. Thank goodness I didn't say it.
I will go out on a limb and predict that ET has a better career then Iggy IMO.
The answer to your prediction will not be known for many years.
Not saying I agree or disagree, but it isn't really going out on a limb because there are no repercussions IMO. I think that documenting your position in measurable, more short term ways is far more risky on a message board like this.
Speaking against Igoudala is risky on this board.
You mean speaking against him with a poor argument is risky.
To which I didn't.
To which I didn't.
Sorry for the double reply, don't know how it happened. Maybe being 5500 miles away is playing tricks on me.
I miss basketball!
I think Turner deserved more minutes than he got last year, mainly because there were many times he got removed for missing one shot, or making one turnover. Other guys didn't get such a hook. I disagree with your saying he was outplayed by other guys. He was just treated differently. The Doug Collins rookie way.
To your question, I'm happy for Turner to take minutes from both Lou and Meeks. Although honestly I'd rather have almost anyone in the NBA take minutes from both Lou and Meeks.
Yep, I totally agree. BUT I'm sure this will make ET stronger. Yeah, Doug can make or break rookies but those who survive his way of handling things become great players. Rarely I have seen such a skill set in player, now that he's dedicated to working on his shot I'm sure he'll be ok. JKidd only started working on his 3s the last past years and it got him a championship, ET works on his shot now so I still believe ET can do it. Once he starts knocking down open looks, his drive will become extremely dangerous.
I agree, ET is going to be a special player. I love his all-around game and he made major shooting improvements even during his rookie season. Was throwing it down at a 48% clip (and ended the year making 7 of 9 threes) the last couple months of the season.
Posted by Ben Golliver.
Managing an NBA roster is an intricate task.
So many factors must be considered. First, and foremost, you must acquire top-level talent, handing out the big dollars to players that have earned it. You must avoid the risks that go with overpaying average talent, questionable characters and players who are past their prime or dealing with injuries. You must also create a balance based on positions and skillsets so as to avoid redundancy. Of course, there's the critical issue of timing, too. To create sustained success and a potential championship window, it helps to have your best players aging at the same time so that they will be locked into contracts for a similar duration.
With so many complication factors and with the fate of a franchise tied so closely to the health and contract statuses of its best players, it's no wonder we see such a wide range of quality when we assess the rosters around the league. But who, really, is in the best shape right now? And, conversely, whose roster is the worst?
To answer that question, try this hypothetical: If you were a new NBA owner in an undisclosed location granted the ability to poach an entire roster from a current team -- taking with you all of the players and their contracts, but not the coaching and management staffs -- who would you take? What would your list look like?
Here's one unscientific crack at that hypothetical, a ranking of the NBA's thirty rosters from worst to first. Included with each team are its key assets (stars, emerging stars on rookie deals, good players on reasonable contracts), its key anchors (bad contracts, ill-fitting pieces, aging stars who are owed more future money than they will be worth) and questions (free agency decisions, problems with roster construction). Remember, this ranking is for right now, not last season or next season, although the future -- both long-term and short-term -- obviously plays a factor in determining the desireability of a roster.
14. Philadelphia 76ers
Assets: Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand, Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, Nikola Vucevic, Andres Nocioni's expiring contract
Anchors: None
Questions: Chemistry, future of Thaddeus Young
Analysis: The mix of young players and veterans doesn't quite feel right but the lack of any behemoth contracts and quality young talent makes this a promising group, especially because the Sixers hold a 2012-2013 team option on Nocioni, their worst current contract from a value standpoint. Iguodala and Brand command the big salaries and are still productive but either or both could be moved if necessary. Assuming Young is retained, a core of Young/Holiday/Turner isn't great but it's not terrible, either, especially if younger parts were obtained in exchange for Iguodala or Brand. Turner is clearly the X-factor for this group's long-term potential, which could be a bit scary.
http://eye-on-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/30879011
Jrue is a future anchor, can't they project that or are they haters.
You're so jaded it's tough to tell if you're just an idiot and don't know what they mean by "anchors" or if you're saying you think they're going to sign Jrue for too much money.
An Idiot? That's harsh Brian, more like a die hard sixers fan who believes or at least wants to believe that Jrue will be a dream teamer/superstar.
Then you still don't get what they're saying. Anchor is a contract that's holding the team down.
Then your right, I misunderstood the whole damn thing. It's my fiances fault, I only have time to skim articles these days instead of reading them. My bad
It is kind of confusing. I often think of a "veteran anchor" as the guy who carries the team on his back. In a contract context, I guess an anchor weighs you down, but "anchor" can be used in a positive way as the guy who keeps the ship stable.
point
Your right stoned, that's what I thought as well when I read it. It's usually used to describe an ace Pitcher in baseball.
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