The 76ers, who have been to more NBA Finals than any team outside of the Lakers and Celtics, have "become a test case for what happens when the cold, hard calculations of the business world are applied to the emotionally charged landscape of professional sports," according to a front-page piece by David Gelles of the N.Y. TIMES. Instead of "spending lavishly on star players, the owners have employed methods honed at the private equity firms where they made their fortunes." The 76ers are "turning the fundamental belief system of sports on its head," and "do not mind losing." When Managing Owner Josh Harris acquired the team, his "first big move" was to bring in C Andrew Bynum. However, Bynum "did not play a game for the 76ers and signed elsewhere" after the team paid him $17M. After that "debacle, Harris and his co-owners abruptly changed tack." 76ers CEO Scott O'Neil said of Harris and co-Owner David Blitzer, "They operate much more at the board level than other owners I’ve worked for. They believe in weighing in on the budget, on management and on strategy. They invest in talent, and then they let the operators operate.” Gelles notes the club is "unlikely to land top talent through acquisitions or trades." Instead, its "best hope for acquiring major talent is through the draft." Former NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik said, “I don’t understand this strategy at all; it seems ill-advised. You can’t assure yourself of anything in the lottery, and you can’t assure yourself when the next LeBron James or Tim Duncan is going to come along.” O’Neil said that several successful teams, including the Thunder, Warriors and Raptors, had "followed similar paths." But he acknowledged that the 76ers have "taken this strategy to new extremes" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/5).
NO ROOM FOR FAILURE: In Philadelphia, John Smallwood writes the problem with the 76ers' philosophy is that a "high-risk plan that requires so many things to go right to get the high reward can result in a fragile and unreliable future." It is "not even just unexpected things." Some easily identified issues could "cause some incredible headaches as soon as the end of this season." Those issues include "managing the NBA salary cap -- which many blame for forcing teams into the vicious cycle of getting really bad to get high picks, so that they can get really good." If GM Sam Hinkie "gives the wrong deals to the wrong players, his rebuilding plan could blow up and the Sixers will be again trapped in a cycle of mediocrity that they can't escape because of a strangling salary cap" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 12/5).
76ERS A MOCKERY? In L.A., Bill Plaschke writes under the header, "The Philadelphia 76ers' Biggest Loss This Season Is Their Integrity." The team is "making a mockery of the NBA and its draft lottery, openly sacrificing an entire season." It is what the Lakers could have done, but the notion of losing intentionally "went against the ideals that have defined their championship legacy." The 76ers "apparently have no such ideals, no such respect for their legacy, and thus have descended into madness." The team "still plays hard," but it is the front office which has "shamelessly given up." The Wall Street bankers in the team's ownership ranks are "attempting to game the system with little concern for the dignity of competition." The 76ers are $20M "under the salary cap floor," with a payroll of around $38M. That is "about as much as the Clippers pay" G Chris Paul and F Blake Griffin (L.A. TIMES, 12/5).
