When the 76ers were preparing for the 1995 draft, head coach and general manager John Lucas invited college stars to St. Joseph's University for private workouts, and there they found a skinny, young player against whom they were matched one-on-one.
"Is he on your team?" one player asked Lucas after his workout, which ended badly for the prospective draftee.
"No, son," Lucas said. "He's a junior in high school."
When the 76ers were preparing for the 1995 draft, head coach and general manager John Lucas invited college stars to St. Joseph's University for private workouts, and there they found a skinny, young player against whom they were matched one-on-one.
"Is he on your team?" one player asked Lucas after his workout, which ended badly for the prospective draftee.
"No, son," Lucas said. "He's a junior in high school."
As Kobe Bryant returns to Philadelphia to play basketball on Tuesday night, apparently for the last time, he comes back as a 37-year-old at the end of a Hall of Fame career. He is in his 19th professional season and, with a tweak of time, all of those seasons could have been spent in a Sixers uniform.
It is a career that contained seven appearances in the NBA Finals, five championships, two scoring titles, a Most Valuable Player award and 15 selections to the All-Star Game. Bryant became symbolic of the revival of the Los Angeles Lakers, carrying on the tradition of Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. Just as easily, he could have been the player who picked up the banner for Billy Cunningham, Julius Erving and Maurice Cheeks.
Unfortunately, for that latter narrative, the calendar pages fell the wrong way. Lucas, who was prepared to take Bryant with the first pick in the 1996 NBA draft rather than Allen Iverson, was fired before he got the chance. The Sixers were sold in April and the new management under Pat Croce brought in another general manager and, ultimately, another coach.
Had Harold Katz waited another year to sell and stayed with Lucas, who had two seasons remaining on his contract, things would have fallen much differently.
John Lucas came home from a disappointing road trip in the spring of 1995 - the Sixers of that era rarely had any other kind - and his wife told him there was a high school player he needed to see. Their daughter, Tarvia, attended Lower Merion High School and that is where Debbie Lucas made her discovery.
She had purchased tickets for the District 1 semifinal game between Lower Merion and Coatesville at the Palestra, a game in which Bryant would be matched up against sophomore Richard "Rip" Hamilton of Coatesville.
In the cinder-block corridors of the Palestra before the game, Lucas saw Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, the former La Salle star and NBA forward against whom Lucas had played.
"What are you doing here?" Lucas said.
"My son plays for Lower Merion," Bryant said. "What are you doing here?"
"My wife wants me to see some kid named Kobe," Lucas said.
"That's my son," Bryant said.
Lucas saw what the rest of the basketball world was seeing, including all the college coaches who were forming a line to recruit Kobe. Lucas didn't recruit him, but after the high school season was over, he invited Bryant to some informal workouts with the Sixers.
"Back then, the rules were nowhere near what they are now," Lucas said. "When I was in Cleveland, I tried that with LeBron James and they suspended me two games."
Bryant began to work out with Lucas after the Sixers finished their regular practices and he found himself paired up individually against some of the players. Bryant went at it one day with Vernon Maxwell, almost 30 years old and a seven-year NBA veteran.
"They were playing to 10, and it got to 9-9 and it was so rough, I thought they were going to fight with each other," Lucas said. "I said to myself, 'I want somebody who's going to fight at 9-9.' "
Lucas used Bryant as the litmus test that summer for players he might take with the third pick in the 1995 draft. According to Lucas, Antonio McDyess, a 6-foot-9 power forward who was taken by the Clippers with the second pick, was the only one who beat Bryant, and that included Jerry Stackhouse, the eventual pick, and a number of others.
"I based my draft on that. Kobe played them all one-on-one," Lucas said. "That summer, he trained with the team and went through the entire program. He got up every morning and worked out with us at 6 a.m."
Back at Lower Merion for his senior season, Bryant and the Aces won the state championship and it was clear that Bryant would be heading straight into the NBA draft. It was a talented draft class that included Iverson, Marcus Camby, Shareef Abdul-Rahim, Stephon Marbury and Ray Allen. Bryant, who wouldn't turn 18 until August, was projected to be taken near the middle of the round - except by John Lucas.
"There was no question in my mind, he was the best player," Lucas said. "He wasn't only the most skilled, but I never had anybody work at that level. I heard him tell kids something at a camp once, years later. He said, 'Some people want to be the gazelles that are able to run alongside the lions. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I never wanted to be a gazelle.' "
Bryant became a lion in Los Angeles instead. It could have been here. Time and place didn't match up, though. It just missed.
"I think Philadelphia has always had a love-hate relationship with Kobe," Lucas said. "But he would have been up there on Mount Rushmore in Philly, with Hal Greer and Wilt and Doc. He should be up there."
Porzingas looks like he might be a beast for the Knicks. I think we might regret taking Jah over him. Damn it.
I still like the Okafor pick but the argument could be made that a Noel-Porzingas combo would be better than the Okafor-Noel. Okafor-Noel doesn't seem to be working together very well so far. Will be interesting to see how Porzingas' career plays out though. Really only one foreigner has ever been the #1 guy on a good team (Nowitzki).
your whole organization is really getting trashed by the media.
like, really.
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Philly I & II, 16
Denver 22
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
Because we're not tanking the right way and we're supposed to be baby sitters for every second of our players' lives.
Alright, alright, alright!
Tom O. "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
-The Writer
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
Saric and, this time his dad, reiterate again that he will come to Sixers next year. Even a quote by him saying he doesn't care about the money he's leaving on the table.
your whole organization is really getting trashed by the media.
like, really.
oh no! really???
HOLY SHIT REALLY????
for real.
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Philly I & II, 16
Denver 22
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
doesn't read as a ringing endorsement of his game.
It shows that he's progressed quite a bit over the last couple years. Most encouraging is the improved jump shot. Far from a finished product though, obviously
Philly’s failure to this point also doesn’t mean they are misreading the league’s incentive system or that tanking is dumb. The best way to win a championship is to land a top-10 overall player, and study after study has shown that the best way to find such a player is to draft him. The fact that most tanking teams never win a title doesn’t invalidate the strategy. Most teams of all stripes never win the title. Every team-building strategy is a low-percentage play if the criteria is getting a ring.
Front-office types outside of Philly who have studied this issue in depth have told me that a team would have to tank up to six or seven years in a row for the strategy to become anything like a can’t-miss play. Do the Sixers have the stomach for that?
Maybe not. But they do have a hungrier tanking stomach than any team that came before, and that should give the cacklers some pause. Embiid’s injury and Okafor’s juvenile crap aren’t evidence that Philly has botched The Process. They are blips baked into The Process. A longer tanking timeline allows for both risks and setbacks. If the Bobcats miss on Anthony Davis, they’re done tanking. If the Sixers miss on Embiid and Okafor, they’re going to take their best damn shot at Ben Simmons. If you really have this kind of patience, you can afford some misses. That’s the entire point of the strategy. One hit, and the long-term outlook changes.
The Sixers have unused salary slots that would fit mid-level veterans, and they don’t care. That is their right, and Philly has used their cap space over the past two seasons to make several smart predatory trades — including the swindling of Sacramento that landed Landry, Sauce Castillo, and draft picks. The Sixers want to maximize the chances every roster spot becomes a trade asset, and they’re correct that Robert Covington, a quality rotation player on a bargain-basement four-year deal, is a more attractive trade asset than a wily 34-year-old earning $3 million.
Philly’s failure to this point also doesn’t mean they are misreading the league’s incentive system or that tanking is dumb. The best way to win a championship is to land a top-10 overall player, and study after study has shown that the best way to find such a player is to draft him. The fact that most tanking teams never win a title doesn’t invalidate the strategy. Most teams of all stripes never win the title. Every team-building strategy is a low-percentage play if the criteria is getting a ring.
Front-office types outside of Philly who have studied this issue in depth have told me that a team would have to tank up to six or seven years in a row for the strategy to become anything like a can’t-miss play. Do the Sixers have the stomach for that?
Maybe not. But they do have a hungrier tanking stomach than any team that came before, and that should give the cacklers some pause. Embiid’s injury and Okafor’s juvenile crap aren’t evidence that Philly has botched The Process. They are blips baked into The Process. A longer tanking timeline allows for both risks and setbacks. If the Bobcats miss on Anthony Davis, they’re done tanking. If the Sixers miss on Embiid and Okafor, they’re going to take their best damn shot at Ben Simmons. If you really have this kind of patience, you can afford some misses. That’s the entire point of the strategy. One hit, and the long-term outlook changes.
The Sixers have unused salary slots that would fit mid-level veterans, and they don’t care. That is their right, and Philly has used their cap space over the past two seasons to make several smart predatory trades — including the swindling of Sacramento that landed Landry, Sauce Castillo, and draft picks. The Sixers want to maximize the chances every roster spot becomes a trade asset, and they’re correct that Robert Covington, a quality rotation player on a bargain-basement four-year deal, is a more attractive trade asset than a wily 34-year-old earning $3 million.
the underlined is not exactly true. Kobe, Shaq, Lebron, and Garnett just to name a few all won titles on teams they weren't drafted by.
Philly’s failure to this point also doesn’t mean they are misreading the league’s incentive system or that tanking is dumb. The best way to win a championship is to land a top-10 overall player, and study after study has shown that the best way to find such a player is to draft him. The fact that most tanking teams never win a title doesn’t invalidate the strategy. Most teams of all stripes never win the title. Every team-building strategy is a low-percentage play if the criteria is getting a ring.
Front-office types outside of Philly who have studied this issue in depth have told me that a team would have to tank up to six or seven years in a row for the strategy to become anything like a can’t-miss play. Do the Sixers have the stomach for that?
Maybe not. But they do have a hungrier tanking stomach than any team that came before, and that should give the cacklers some pause. Embiid’s injury and Okafor’s juvenile crap aren’t evidence that Philly has botched The Process. They are blips baked into The Process. A longer tanking timeline allows for both risks and setbacks. If the Bobcats miss on Anthony Davis, they’re done tanking. If the Sixers miss on Embiid and Okafor, they’re going to take their best damn shot at Ben Simmons. If you really have this kind of patience, you can afford some misses. That’s the entire point of the strategy. One hit, and the long-term outlook changes.
The Sixers have unused salary slots that would fit mid-level veterans, and they don’t care. That is their right, and Philly has used their cap space over the past two seasons to make several smart predatory trades — including the swindling of Sacramento that landed Landry, Sauce Castillo, and draft picks. The Sixers want to maximize the chances every roster spot becomes a trade asset, and they’re correct that Robert Covington, a quality rotation player on a bargain-basement four-year deal, is a more attractive trade asset than a wily 34-year-old earning $3 million.
the underlined is not exactly true. Kobe, Shaq, Lebron, and Garnett just to name a few all won titles on teams they weren't drafted by.
yeah it is. kobe's a technicality as he was essentially selected by charlotte for the lakers in a trade and he's only played for the lakers his entire career. with the other guys---they all went to form "super teams" with superstars who were drafted by the teams they went to (kobe in la, dwade in miami (obviously this happened twice with lebron and shaq), and pierce in boston).
and the article says it's the "best way," not the only way.
Post edited by The Juggler on
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The Juggler
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Comments
Tom O.
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
-The Writer
You need to get him on the Embiid Shirley Temple diet.
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
like, really.
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Tom O.
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
-The Writer
Let's just fast forward to next summer already...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
http://www.libertyballers.com/2015/12/4/9828726/sixers-overseas-film-review
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14287780/how-much-patience-sixer-fans-nba-process
Philly’s failure to this point also doesn’t mean they are misreading the league’s incentive system or that tanking is dumb. The best way to win a championship is to land a top-10 overall player, and study after study has shown that the best way to find such a player is to draft him. The fact that most tanking teams never win a title doesn’t invalidate the strategy. Most teams of all stripes never win the title. Every team-building strategy is a low-percentage play if the criteria is getting a ring.
Front-office types outside of Philly who have studied this issue in depth have told me that a team would have to tank up to six or seven years in a row for the strategy to become anything like a can’t-miss play. Do the Sixers have the stomach for that?
Maybe not. But they do have a hungrier tanking stomach than any team that came before, and that should give the cacklers some pause. Embiid’s injury and Okafor’s juvenile crap aren’t evidence that Philly has botched The Process. They are blips baked into The Process. A longer tanking timeline allows for both risks and setbacks. If the Bobcats miss on Anthony Davis, they’re done tanking. If the Sixers miss on Embiid and Okafor, they’re going to take their best damn shot at Ben Simmons. If you really have this kind of patience, you can afford some misses. That’s the entire point of the strategy. One hit, and the long-term outlook changes.
The Sixers have unused salary slots that would fit mid-level veterans, and they don’t care. That is their right, and Philly has used their cap space over the past two seasons to make several smart predatory trades — including the swindling of Sacramento that landed Landry, Sauce Castillo, and draft picks. The Sixers want to maximize the chances every roster spot becomes a trade asset, and they’re correct that Robert Covington, a quality rotation player on a bargain-basement four-year deal, is a more attractive trade asset than a wily 34-year-old earning $3 million.
Tom O.
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
-The Writer
kobe's a technicality as he was essentially selected by charlotte for the lakers in a trade and he's only played for the lakers his entire career. with the other guys---they all went to form "super teams" with superstars who were drafted by the teams they went to (kobe in la, dwade in miami (obviously this happened twice with lebron and shaq), and pierce in boston).
and the article says it's the "best way," not the only way.