Ish Smith? Not Into This Ish....

The Philadelphia 76ers are 1-30. They're 0-18 on the road, which is absolutely putrid. As bad as it is, I'm saddled in to ride it out, hoping to land the top pick, get a star, and begin to be an acceptable basketball team again. In other words, I get that they have to be bad to be good again, and I'm accepting this is how it is. Just put the steaming pile of garbage on the court and let's get through this.

I get how bad Tony Wroten looked in his first couple of games back, but I still considered him one of the better talents on this pathetic roster. I thought they'd maybe be able to trade him later and get something, even if it wasn't much. Instead they just cut him, after trading for Ish Smith of the Pelicans. They traded two second round picks for a player who's so good that they let him go in the off-season. We gave up picks to get a really mediocre player. We also cut a player just coming back from injury, at his lowest value. This is the definition of bad front office work.

People would like to blame Sam Hinkie, and that's fine, but I fear this is the first of many Jerry Colangelo "respectability" moves. You should read "respectability" as mediocrity, which is hell in the NBA, a team that "contends" to win some games. I'm in the camp that I really don't want to watch a six, seven, or eight seed team in a season or two, that is where basketball dreams go to die. Getting an Ish Smith maybe helps you win a few more games this season, which is what the NBA owners would like to see, but really does nothing to help the Sixers build a championship contender in a few seasons. I don't want "respectability" moves on this roster. I want them to stink however long it takes to get a player or five that can bring a championship here. Yes, this is brutal to watch, and sure they stink, but I'd rather be trying to win championships than win a few more games. I really hope this isn't the beginning of a trend where we try to "get a little better" right now. That does nothing for me.