Game Day: 76ers (1-30) @ Suns (12-19), Sat 12/26/15

[Mori Chu]

I may just sit out the Earl Watson era for the Suns. Call me when it's over!

[pickle]

The ridiculousness of what these guys do is so obvious to us, that at one point it felt like we were being very single-minded as fans, kind of like how players get tunnel vision on the court. However, given the amount of coverage in mainstream sports media, it would seem that it's not just us. So it begs the question, what circumstances are going through our front office's collective minds that they are making these ridiculous decisions? I'm sure there is a tremendous amount of things happening behind the scenes that we aren't privy to that are somehow making these decisions defensible, and I'd sure as hell love to see what those are.

[Indy]

I'm sure there is a tremendous amount of things happening behind the scenes that we aren't privy to that are somehow making these decisions defensible, and I'd sure as hell love to see what those are.

I completely agree. Despite what some here say, these are not stupid guys. They have different priorities than we do, and probably many, many more than we even think about. So I get that part. But I still fault them for trying to maintain their revenue streams while sacrificing the future for the people that are their revenue stream. Again, same thing I have been saying for nearly 10 years--penny-wise, pound-foolish. I think that is Sarver's middle name. Seriously. Look it up.

[Mori Chu]

I don't mean unintelligent like they would get low SAT scores. (Except for most of the players, I guess.) I mean unintelligent like basketball unintelligent. Not understanding the game, the big picture, how to properly build a winning franchise over several years. They don't get it. They are smart men with various impressive credentials, but they don't get it.

[SwingMan]

I don't mean unintelligent like they would get low SAT scores. (Except for most of the players, I guess.) I mean unintelligent like basketball unintelligent. Not understanding the game, the big picture, how to properly build a winning franchise over several years. They don't get it. They are smart men with various impressive credentials, but they don't get it.

Yep - the past month has been like watching an extended run of The Keystone Cops. 2012-2013 never approached the sheer stupidity on the court as these guys.

[Superbone]

I don't mean unintelligent like they would get low SAT scores. (Except for most of the players, I guess.) I mean unintelligent like basketball unintelligent. Not understanding the game, the big picture, how to properly build a winning franchise over several years. They don't get it. They are smart men with various impressive credentials, but they don't get it.

Yep - the past month has been like watching an extended run of The Keystone Cops. 2012-2013 never approached the sheer stupidity on the court as these guys.

Wow. I don't know what to say. Maybe short-term memory. I'd say 12-13 was nearly 50% worse.

[SwingMan]

I don't mean unintelligent like they would get low SAT scores. (Except for most of the players, I guess.) I mean unintelligent like basketball unintelligent. Not understanding the game, the big picture, how to properly build a winning franchise over several years. They don't get it. They are smart men with various impressive credentials, but they don't get it.

Yep - the past month has been like watching an extended run of The Keystone Cops. 2012-2013 never approached the sheer stupidity on the court as these guys.

Wow. I don't know what to say. Maybe short-term memory. I'd say 12-13 was nearly 50% worse.

My memory's good enough.

2012-2013 was bad - this team is comically bad. Though Beasley was a knucklehead, enough of Gentry stuck around that the team didn't actively give games away like they have the past month or so.

Speaking of Beasley, where the hell is he these days? I don't hear mention of him in Miami these days.....

[pickle]

I think Beasley is in China.

I think we are in far better shape now than in 2012-2013... I have my reservations about the front office's lack of long term plan, but for what it's worth, other thank Markieff (bonehead), Chandler (that signing was justifiable even if I would have maybe put in an opt out clause in 2 years) and maybe Tucker who's on the wrong side of 30 with diminishing athleticism, the rest of the players and contracts will be relatively easy to move should it come to that.

For us as fans I realize that it's reached that point and beyond for many of those players, but for the team it hasn't gotten there yet. But if Bledsoe can be healthy next year and Knight can prove his worth the rest of this season, methinks the 14 mil per year contracts in the new salary structure will seem relatively attractive.

[carey]

I think Beasley is in China.

I think we are in far better shape now than in 2012-2013... I have my reservations about the front office's lack of long term plan, but for what it's worth, other thank Markieff (bonehead), Chandler (that signing was justifiable even if I would have maybe put in an opt out clause in 2 years) and maybe Tucker who's on the wrong side of 30 with diminishing athleticism, the rest of the players and contracts will be relatively easy to move should it come to that.

Tucker will be easy to move at the deadline. He only has a partial guarantee next year for $1.7M. Any team would save $3.8M if they cut him. I'm not worried where the team is financially. My current worry is the quality of the players on the roster (not a single all-star,) the lack of ability to attract tier 1 free agents since Nash left, and ultimately the fact that the team doesn't seem to have an identity. The last one is particularly a problem. If someone asked you who the Spurs were, you could answer. Same with the Warriors. Same with the Grizzlies, the Bulls, the Heat, the Cavs and the Clippers. It's been reported that the players don't even know who they are as a group or even where they fit in the scheme individually. This must change to have any sort of success.

[The Bobster]

Tucker will be easy to move at the deadline. He only has a partial guarantee next year for $1.7M. Any team would save $3.8M if they cut him. I'm not worried where the team is financially. My current worry is the quality of the players on the roster (not a single all-star,) the lack of ability to attract tier 1 free agents since Colangelo left, and ultimately the fact that the team doesn't seem to have an identity. The last one is particularly a problem. If someone asked you who the Spurs were, you could answer. Same with the Warriors. Same with the Grizzlies, the Bulls, the Heat, the Cavs and the Clippers. It's been reported that the players don't even know who they are as a group or even where they fit in the scheme individually. This must change to have any sort of success.

Fixed that for yah!

[pickle]

Of course. I'm not saying that I like the way the current team has been put together, just making a comparison to the Beasley years when I couldn't take any more of this "hey we have no plan but we have some cap space so let's sign random useless guys to eat up said cap space lest people discover our sheer incompetence" plan.

[Mori Chu]

Respectfully, the 2012-13 year with M*****l B*****y and L*****y H****r was WAY worse than this. Right now we at least have youth, picks, cap space, and some prospects. We also have a decent coach who challenged for CotY not long ago, and we have a young exec who may be smarter than wise, but at least has some savvy and knows a bit about what is going on. In 2012-13 it was the Blabby show, with a buffoon as our coach and B*****y as our star. That was infinitely worse.

[iLLmatic]

Don't forget about Lance Blanks. '12-'13 was bottom of the barrel bad.

[Mori Chu]

Yup. I mentioned "Blabby," which means Blanks + Babby.

[Nodack]

Yeah, I remember EJ. "Just watch, Beasley is going to break out any day and when he does..."

[Superbone]

...hell will have frozen over.

[Indy]

I think Beasley is in China.

I think we are in far better shape now than in 2012-2013... I have my reservations about the front office's lack of long term plan, but for what it's worth, other thank Markieff (bonehead), Chandler (that signing was justifiable even if I would have maybe put in an opt out clause in 2 years) and maybe Tucker who's on the wrong side of 30 with diminishing athleticism, the rest of the players and contracts will be relatively easy to move should it come to that.

For us as fans I realize that it's reached that point and beyond for many of those players, but for the team it hasn't gotten there yet. But if Bledsoe can be healthy next year and Knight can prove his worth the rest of this season, methinks the 14 mil per year contracts in the new salary structure will seem relatively attractive.

Fixed that for you. Keep in mind that Bledsoe isn't that young. This is his 6th season in the league, and so far, he averages missing a quarter of the season. Yes, he has had three seasons where he didn't miss more than a handful of games, but those other three are awful. 51 this year, 39 two years ago, and 26 his 2nd year in the league (which was 40% of that shortened season).