76ers should be contracted
The Philadelphia 76ers are an absolute disgrace to the game of basketball. Yes, a franchise that once had the great Julius Erving on the floor next to Maurice Cheeks and Darryl Dawkins. The same franchise that gave us Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson, has now become the biggest laughingstock in pro sports.
Some would make the argument that the Cleveland Browns are worse. Yes, Cleveland is the bigger mess if you are looking at the wide scope of things. The team was moved to Baltimore in 1995 and since the city was given a new Browns team in 1999, it has only made the playoffs in the National Football League one time, back in 2002. The Browns were out in the first round that year, blowing a late double-digit lead to the hated Pittsburgh Steelers.
Still, the 76ers are the bigger embarrassment because they don’t even try to win. Cleveland tries, it just fails miserably. The 76ers are busy tanking on a yearly basis for a draft pick which they either screw up royally or simply trade off for 10 cents on the dollar in three years.
In 2013-14, Philadelphia won 19 games and loaded up on draft selections, ending up with a staggering seven, including two in the top 10. The 76ers would take Joel Embiid and Elfrid Payton with the first two picks, followed by five players you have never heard of, the best of which is K.J. McDaniels. Embiid has been a total disaster, either hurt or completely out of shape … or both. Usually both.
The following campaign saw Philadelphia actually get worse, falling to a 18-64 record. The 76ers ended up with six draft picks, only one of which was in the first round (third overall). Philadelphia could have taken Kristaps Porzingis but instead went with Jahlil Okafor, who is out of shape and out of control off the basketball court. On it, he is actually promising, averaging 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
Of course, if Michael Carter-Williams and Payton have taught us anything, the front office will ship Okafor out of town sooner rather than later.
With only 12 games left in the regular season, the 76ers are sitting at 9-61 on the year. It is going to be much worse than either of the last two seasons, something of an unmitigated train wreck. They have the worst record in the NBA by a significant margin, and are in line to pick first and certainly nab forward Ben Simmons from LSU.
If there is any justice in the basketball world, Philadelphia will not be rewarded for playing so rancidly. The 76ers will fall to the third-overall pick as they did last year, and be forced to watch other teams that perhaps have fallen on temporary hard times take Simmons and Brandon Ingram.
Losing is one thing. Actively attempting to be bad is quite another. Boo the 76ers.
