Philadelphia 76ers

"I think they want to start Jahlil Okafor at power forward and Nerlens Noel at center, but it’s not gonna work. Okafor has to have the block; he’s as good a low-post scorer as there is in the league, but his defense is a glaring flaw. Noel can’t shoot, so his [baskets] are going to come around the rim. It’s going to be a hard, hard match to make work. . . . Joel Embiid is such an unknown too. Everybody says he’s really good, but he’s had two foot injuries, and what’s to say he’s not going to have another one? I have to believe that in the first third of the season, they trade one of their three bigs. It will probably be Noel. He can defend but he’s really light in the ass—very thin. Maybe it’s to Boston for a wing player. Philadelphia is just so bad in the backcourt. . . . Another thing: If Dario Šarić is as good as they say he is as a stretch big, he’s gonna need minutes, too. . . . Obviously Ben Simmons is going to be a star once he recovers from his [right] foot injury. He’s got guard skills and his vision is incredible for his size [6' 10"]. He’s a great passer, not a very good shooter. He will guard the threes and will do a lot of three stuff, but I can see them playing him at point guard to hide his lack of scoring. . . . There are mostly stopgaps on the perimeter. Gerald Henderson improves their backcourt, but he’s not long-term. Jerryd Bayless will probably start but he’s not long-term. Sergio Rodriguez has never had much success in the NBA. T.J. McConnell, I don’t like at all. Nik Stauskas has done nothing since he came into the league."

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