Colangelo: ‘This could flip a lot sooner than people understand'

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Just over a month after being named chairman of basketball operations for the Sixers, Jerry Colangelo believes the team is on a faster track to success than some may think.

"[2016] is the year,” he said following practice Wednesday. “It’s a big year.”

Colangelo is on the East Coast to spend time with those in the organization. He met with ownership on Tuesday in New York, attended practice on Wednesday, and will be in Philadelphia through Friday. During the course of his conversations and involvement with the team, he sees the potential for a turnaround in the not-so-distant future.

At 4-36, the Sixers have to make significant changes in order to become a contender. One of the main elements in Colangelo’s outlook is the Sixers' stockpile of draft picks. They have potentially four first-round selections this June. Colangelo credited president and general manager Sam Hinkie for compiling the picks over the years. These chips can be used to facilitate deals around the league. While the Sixers have used them in the past to select and keep first-rounders, they could package them to land more established players and fast-track their growth.

Another factor is the potential of Joel Embiid and Dario Saric. The Sixers drafted both in 2014 and neither has played in an NBA game. Embiid is recovering from his second foot surgery while Saric is competing overseas. If they live up to their projected talent level, the Sixers' roster would be boosted without the need to acquire outside players.

“The reality is, and I’ve come to understand this, that Sam has really done a great job of accumulating assets,” Colangelo said. “If you look at the trades, you look at the draft picks that’ve been accumulated, it’s all there in place. Now it’s a matter of when do you pull the trigger on using all those assets, or any of those assets. So as I look at the board, if you will, I see some things that could happen sooner rather than later.

“That’s because if somebody gets healthy, if the player from Europe comes in and is part of the rotation, and we will have a very high draft pick and then using some of those assets to do other things to consider, be it free agency, be it a trade, whatever, this thing could flip a lot sooner than people understand. So I think this is not a situation where, gee, when are we going to come out of this or when are we going to be able to compete? I think that could be sooner than later.”

With two bigs in question, the Sixers already have another pair they are currently trying to work through on the court. The combination of Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor has been challenging given they are both natural centers. Noel is playing out of position at power forward, shifted for his defensive and athletic abilities. Figuring out how to best utilize the two together is an ongoing issue for the Sixers, one that could become even more complicated when Embiid returns from injury. Colangelo prefers to focus on the immediate season at hand.

“Right now, we don’t know if someone’s going to be healthy for sure,” he said. “We do have the other two centers and they are who they are. There’s a lot of games to play this year. Let’s just see how it plays out.”

If Embiid, Noel and Okafor are all healthy next season, though, that could mean the possibility of new trade avenues with a logjam at the five spot. That’s where the bevy of draft picks could come into play, as the team could potentially pair picks with a player for a larger deal.

“That’s a high-class problem, that’s the way I would look at that,” Colangelo said. “That would be a great problem to have and primarily because of Embiid. If he’s healthy, he’s a got a chance to be a real difference maker in my opinion. That’s the upside talent that’s there. Then you have to look at different pieces and how they complement one another and what you need, and you don’t get anything for nothing. If you want to go out and be active, you have to give up something.”

The Sixers have their own assets to offer, then it comes down to what other teams could swap in return. Colangelo believes if all the pieces match up and the Sixers find the right suitors, they could make deals to move the team in the right direction in a shorter span of time.

“There’s one way to go here and that’s up,” he said. “I’m very optimistic that if — you’ve got to be a little bit lucky too in terms of all the things I’m talking about. I use the expression, the stars have to be aligned and if we have a good alignment it could happen in '16. So we could have a turnaround in one year that would surprise people. But the assets are in place to potentially make that happen.

“There’s no guarantee, but the thing you have to do is give people hope that, listen, this isn’t like ... let’s look down the road five years and see where we are. No, I don’t see that at all. I see the opportunity here to get some big things done over the next year.”

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