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What Are The Trade Options For The Sixers? (PST Episode 551) · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

0:00
Hey there, folks, it's Jeff. We wanted to let you know.
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This podcast episode was recorded on Wednesday, January thirty, first, twenty twenty
0:07
four. By the time you hear this, some things may have changed here
0:09
or there, but we hope you enjoy the show. All right, everybody,
0:38
you're listening to the Philadelphia Sports Table podcast show, the longest running weekly
0:41
Philly sports podcast show in the world, over ten and a half years strong.
0:44
We got a great show coming to you. Lots of Eagles Talk on
0:47
the way, as a new coaching staff has begun to take shape and take
0:52
its form again with this Philadelphia Eagles team. A lot of transformations here.
0:57
And then we're going to be getting into some Flyers talk Owen Tippett, Ryan
1:00
Poling, they have new contracts with the Flyers, and we may even dive
1:03
into a little bit of this Carter Heart situation, perhaps a little bit.
1:07
And we got some Sixers talk on the way. Sean Bernard from Fox Sports,
1:12
Phillies, The Gambler and pickswat Media. He's gonna join us for an
1:15
in depth discussion about this Philadelphia seventy six Ers team, what's going on with
1:19
them and where they're heading in the future. I'm Jeff Warren. I'm here
1:23
on my buddy, Len Hunt sickerd Len. You are tired, buddy,
1:26
Thanks for coming on. Man, it's good to talk to you, my
1:27
friend. Yeah, the alarm goes off in five hours. It's gonna be
1:32
awesome. All right, Well, this is gonna be a shorter one.
1:38
We know, folks, we know it's gonna be a little bit of a
1:40
shorter show a little bit of an abbreviated show again, you know, without
1:42
you know, an Eagle season, without a Phillies season. And of course
1:48
we're hearing all this chatter in terms of the Flyers and just with these re
1:51
signings, Eagles coaching and what's going on with Joe El Embiid and this Sixers
1:56
team. A little bit of an abbreviated show. But we got some good
1:59
stuff coming to you. Let Yeah, I was hoping that, like there,
2:01
they'd have some kind of update before we went on on to beat because
2:05
it looks I mean, I mean, I'm talking to Sean. Yeah,
2:08
I'm gonna be talking to Sean Bernard again as part of our interview this week.
2:13
They got to shut him down, man, they got to shut him
2:15
down like he should. I would not think, Yeah, last night against
2:19
the Warriors, he should not have been out on the court, you know.
2:21
Yeah, Yeah, it's weird because there were I was reading an article
2:23
today where they were kind of talking about, you know, okay, he
2:25
didn't play in Denver and everyone's like, oh, he's ducking you know,
2:29
yokicch and you know, he hadn't played a couple of games before, and
2:31
like it seems like people are like shaming him and not playing right. So
2:36
then he goes out there against Golden State and look what happens. And he
2:38
looked bad in that game too. I mean even before you know, Kaminga
2:43
fell on his leg. He looked bad in that game. And then you
2:46
know, like he just wasn't himself, you know, moving around like he
2:50
normally does. He didn't even look fifty. No, no, he did
2:54
not. And then you know, and then that happens, and it's just
2:57
like, well, there you go. You're happy. Yeah, you know
2:59
exactly, he's on the court. You guys got what you wanted. There
3:01
you go, fans, there you go. Yeah. I've got a lot
3:04
more seventy six ers talk coming on this episode. But Len, I don't
3:07
know, I gotta tell you buddy, like I have been really happy to
3:10
see these changes that have been instituted, and I'll say this too rather quickly
3:16
by the Philadelphia Eagles. We are not seeing this Eagles front office just idly
3:22
sitting by waiting to hire offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators, other unit based coaches.
3:29
We're not just seeing them waiting. I mean they are being pretty aggressive
3:31
here in terms of who they wanted. They went after certain coaches for this
3:38
brand new coordinator staff here. Of course, Vic Fangio coming in as the
3:44
defensive coordinator. Kellen Moore, former Dallas Cowboy offensive coordinator, is going to
3:50
be at the link and gonna be with this Eagles offense in the future.
3:53
And then Clint Hurt, who's getting He's getting some love, a little bit
3:59
of love out there on the Twitter and X just you look at him,
4:03
Oh my gosh. He should actually be on the Eagles defensive line, but
4:05
he's going to be the new defensive line coach. Bick Fangio wanted him to
4:10
come in, so Lenn I like what we've seen thus far. It seems
4:13
like the organization knows who they want, what type of potential schemes, and
4:17
what they want to do. They're going out and they're getting it right now
4:20
without idly sitting by I kind of like this here. Yeah. I mean
4:25
I think once they decided, you know, and I mean know, maybe
4:28
they never had a question their minds once they decided they were sick with Sirianni,
4:32
I think they knew they kind of had to go out and strike quickly
4:35
in the coordinator market. And also for their own sake, for for getting
4:41
somebody in the house that they're they're confident and you know, getting guys before
4:46
they get taken by other teams. But also in terms of like fan perception,
4:49
it's just like, Okay, we're keeping this guy that you guys are
4:53
you know. I mean, to me, it looked like the team quit
4:56
on him towards the end of the end of the year, but you know,
4:59
they're they're sole on him still, so you better get your people in
5:01
here and and get working. Uh. And it looks like that's they did.
5:05
Fangio is a guy that you know, he was. Yeah, let's
5:09
start with what peoples at one point with a you know, uh, last
5:13
year he had a contract. Yeah, last year he had like a contract
5:15
in the off season, specifically, I think for the Super Bowl where they
5:19
brought him in just as like an advisor. Yeah, and I think they
5:24
always kind of liked him, and but they you know, I feel like
5:29
there was like there were kind of ships in the night at one point.
5:31
They may have been interested in him, but they had somebody and they you
5:34
know kind of you know, he went in another direction. So but you
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know, it kind of always felt like in the past, like maybe two
5:42
or three years, he was kind of on the periphery and then so now
5:45
he's here, and you know, from you know, I'm not a student.
5:48
You know, I don't watch the All twenty twos, and you know,
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everybody just thinks they're a football coach on Twitter now, you know,
5:55
so I don't do that. But from reading up on him, it's interesting
5:59
to me because you know, we've talked about defensive personnel and how they desperately
6:03
need to add to the you know, to the back seven on the defense,
6:09
and it seems like safeties are really big in his scheme. Absolutely,
6:14
And also if you look at where he has been and the success he's had,
6:17
he's had great linebackers and it's like, okay, are we are we
6:21
gonna are we going to invest in these positions because I mean, if this
6:25
guy's defense is going to have any success, then you got to bump up
6:30
the personnel. Absolutely. That's that's maybe you know, out of everything you
6:33
know with the coordinators, that to me is the most interesting thing. I
6:36
absolutely agree with you. Look, he's coming in with the with the Cover
6:41
six scheme and what that basically means and everybody, I mean, if you're
6:45
following this closely, folks, you know, like with Cover six scheme,
6:48
safeties and linebackers, as Len was just saying, are absolutely imperative to running
6:53
the scheme because they need to be able to cover in space. Right now,
6:57
this Philadelphia Eagles defensive personnel, they really don't have that many guys in
7:01
the linebacker exactly what defense exactly. It's really interesting, Yeah, which leads
7:11
us to believe that free agency, which is right around the corner, we
7:15
are going to be seeing some movement for sure as it pertains to defense a
7:18
personnel from linebacker and safety perspective. I mean, I I also the one
7:23
thing that I don't necessarily like, and you know this may be maybe curmudgeon
7:28
Jeff coming out here, but that Fangio defense is not one to blitz all
7:33
that often. He typically has four rushers and seven players on passing downs and
7:39
coverage, you know, at multiple levels elite edge rushers. That's one of
7:43
the hallmarks of the Fangio defense. Blitzes are used, I guess from everything
7:48
I've read, at reasonable times during the course of a game, and it
7:53
likes to use what's called like quote safe pressures as well. Those are used
7:57
frequencily frequently. But the just the all out blitz, you know, We're
8:03
really not going to see that too too much. And I like that because
8:05
I think in this league, where you have quarterbacks that you know, that
8:09
are mobile and that can get outside the pocket, that initial blitz, you
8:13
know, if you have if you're bringing like seven guys at times, it
8:16
is really hard for the quarterback to really have a clue as to where they
8:20
need to put the ball. And I don't think we're going to see that
8:22
much. But but I'm very happy at the direction of where the defense is
8:26
going to go. I think they're hopefully going to get away from a lot
8:28
of zone based packages. With the cover six, I think we're really gonna
8:31
and again end up seeing some new personnel that this team desperately needs. Now
8:37
you know, the Eagles are a team that has you know, definitely,
8:41
you know, prioritized defensively the line. So in Fangio's you know defense,
8:50
here which guys you know, obviously you're looking at Jail and Carter and maybe
8:54
Davis and you know which guys do you think do you think any in that
9:01
kind of scheme is gonna thrive? I hope a Son Reddick stays. I
9:03
hope they re signed Hassan Reddick. And I think that Nolan Smith may have
9:09
a good opportunity coming into his second year to be that much more of a
9:11
contributor off the edge. It's for him, yeah, exactly. Or from
9:16
a stunt perspective too, you know, he may line up on the edge,
9:18
you know, he may be a fifth guy on the line, but
9:22
he's got a stunt maybe through the a gap. So who knows what will
9:26
happen, But I think Nolan Smith, Josh Sweat hopefully. I mean there
9:31
was so much promise with Josh Wett and boy did he just fall off a
9:33
cliff this year. So hopefully Vic Fangio and and hopefully Clint Hurt as well,
9:41
who mentioned earlier coming over from the Seattle Seahawks as well as the defensive
9:46
line coach. Hopefully with his talent and his knowledge, is going to be
9:50
able to get some of these guys moving next year twenty twenty four season.
9:54
Yeah. No, I mean I'm interested to see obviously what they do personnel
9:58
wise. But yeah, those those those all those resources that they've sunk into
10:03
the line. Y, you know, you know, how does that play
10:07
out? Now? You know how it seems like, you know from what
10:11
I've read, I mean a lot of times you see the defense and you're
10:15
thinking three to four, So, you know, is it just Jordan Davis
10:18
as a nose tackle? Do they use Jael and Carter, you know,
10:22
as as one of the three down line? But I don't know, Yeah,
10:26
I sure, I don't know how any of that's gonna be. Yeah,
10:28
I don't think we really necessarily know how it's going to look with the
10:31
personnel that's there now, and I think they're going to try to acquire some
10:35
personnel and free agency too. I think at the end of the day,
10:37
for me Lynn, when it comes to Vic Fangio, the fact that we
10:41
are going to have a modern defense here in Philadelphia, I am extremely happy
10:46
about that. Like from an overall picture, Look, sometimes schemes don't work
10:50
with certain personnel. They're going to be working to get that personnel in here
10:54
during the off season. They're going to be doing that for sure. We
10:56
know that, I mean just based on the higher itself, but overall the
11:01
fact that there's gonna be a modern defense that actually makes me feel good.
11:03
Yeah, yeah, I'm very interested to see what they do here. So
11:09
now let's move over to the offensive side of the ball there, what do
11:11
you think with Kellen Moore? Look, I think with I think with Kellen
11:15
Moore. I mean he's gonna be charged with fixing an Eagles offense that completely
11:18
fell apart, you know, and and and presumably still you know, the
11:24
head coaches on thin ice because of that, all trying to manage a new
11:28
relationship with Jalen Hurtz, trying to find that path to perhaps get him back
11:33
to that MVP caliber form. I he has a I think he has a
11:41
depth of knowledge, whether it's working with you know, Dak Prescott and the
11:45
Cowboys offense over the years to move them in a particular direction which I think
11:52
can be good for this Eagles offense. I'm really tired. I will say
11:54
this right now, I am tired of Philly sports talk radio trying to initiate
12:01
trade talks to get clicks and to get listeners. It is ridiculous. AJ
12:05
Brown and DeVante Smith are staying folks. Okay, there's no other way around
12:09
it. Especially in a Kellen Moore offense. High powered wide receivers are needed
12:16
and necessary. Those guys aren't going anywhere. I'm telling you that right now.
12:20
I know it's like a quote hot take, but it's not gonna happen.
12:24
It's ridiculous what sports talk radio has done this week to two guys who
12:28
have been freaking awesome for this team over the past couple seasons. So I
12:33
just wanted to say that. Overall, though, len Kellen Moore, I
12:35
like the move, I really do, because I think he has seen success
12:37
in this league. And uh, you know again, Sirian is gonna be
12:43
on thin ice anyway bringing Kellen Moore in, and he's had success in this
12:46
league, So I like it. Yeah, I'm iss for first off,
12:52
I mean, he's a guy that kind of went into coaching at a young
12:56
age. Yes, yes, And I was just like saying, hell,
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how old I feel because I watched this guy play quarterback at Boise State,
13:03
YEP. So that part of it is kind of a freaking me out.
13:09
I want to get your thoughts on what happened last year with the Chargers because
13:13
that you know, he did have this reputation in Dallas as being, you
13:18
know, having good offenses, and then he went through and I know Justin
13:24
Herbert got hurt, but I just feel like kind of what happened there in
13:28
LA last year, Well, I think when you look at the LA Chargers
13:31
and you look at their head coach, who I think has been there a
13:33
couple of years too long, I think I think with him it was gone
13:39
now Brandon Staley. Brandon Staley exactly. Yeah. I think when you have
13:43
that type of leadership at the top, that a guy who isn't learning.
13:46
And I would say that Brandon Staley is a different type of coach than Nick
13:50
Sirianni. I think we have seen with Nick Sirianni that yes, he's been
13:54
given another chance by the Eagles front office to prove himself this upcoming season.
13:58
But I think Nick siriann in certain ways has adapted to his players, and
14:03
I don't necessarily know if Staley was doing that out with the Chargers. And
14:07
that could have been some sort of contention between him and Kellen Moore. I
14:11
don't know this at all, but I think that is a possibility, and
14:15
I think with Nick Sirianni, who is a player's type of guy, it
14:20
seems that Kellen Moore is hopefully going to come in and cater to the strengths
14:24
of what is already here with this offense and the talent that is here.
14:28
I hope he caters to it instead of coming in saying, no, you're
14:31
just gonna run my scheme, because we've seen time and time again in the
14:35
modern NFL that that stuff just doesn't work all the time, and most of
14:39
the time it fails when coaches try to get players to just simply adapt to
14:43
their scheme. I hope that's not the case. I don't think it's going
14:46
to be the case, but I do think that may have happened out out
14:48
with the Chargers. Okay. Yeah, And because I'm you know, obviously
14:54
other side of the country, not the Eagles conference, the Chargers are just
14:58
not a team that I'm really paying attention to, So I wanted to get
15:01
your perspective on it, since I, you know, I don't know what
15:05
the hell happened out there. But it just it just feels like for a
15:09
guy that you know, had such a good reputation in Dallas. Yeah,
15:13
you know, it just seemed like a disappointing year for exam And I want
15:16
to get your thoughts on what happened. I'm gonna tell I'm gonna say this
15:18
to Lend. There's one thing that the Dallas Cowboys when Kelli Moore was with
15:22
them, what they did all the time, and that was run slants over
15:24
the middle and use intermediate routes over the middle of the field on a consistent
15:30
basis. We saw that time and time again against the Philadelphia Eagles. Cowboys
15:33
with Kellamore always did it against the Giants and with the Washington Commanders too.
15:39
And I'll tell you this. The Eagles offense, as we know, they
15:41
avoided the middle of the field in the passing game like it was the freaking
15:43
plague this past year. Meanwhile, you have aj Brown, who was basically
15:48
proven to be near unstoppable on slants and just shallow post routes. Dallas Goddard
15:54
is a pass catching threat, very capable of boxing defenders out from the ball,
16:00
which Sirianni hurts and Brian Johnson all seemed to forget this past year.
16:03
So I think Kellen Moore is going to be able to implement some of these
16:07
more. And it seems really simplistic to say, but over the middle of
16:11
the field type of passing plays that this team just completely got away from,
16:15
and I'm looking forward to seeing that being implemented this season. Yeah, it
16:19
is interesting when you put it that way in terms of like you think of
16:22
a guy like AJ Brown just a big body, just you know, just
16:26
horse of a guy with speed as well, not just a potting guy,
16:32
but just a big guy like that running slants, just being able to get
16:34
his body between, you know, the defender and the ball and then yeah,
16:37
be able to get yards after the catch. It's definitely an intriguing possibility.
16:41
It absolutely is really quick too. Before we had to take our first
16:47
break here, Lynn, and before we get into some flyers talk as well,
16:52
just really wanted to mention that they're bringing in a defensive lineman who just
16:56
looks like he should actually be on the line. Sell, it's really incredible.
17:02
What Clint Clint Clint Hurt. Yeah, h u r t T Clint
17:07
Hurt. He's forty five years old. He actually played on d line in
17:11
college and he just is one big gentleman and hopefully he's gonna be able to
17:15
bring his knowledge of the game, which he's been defensive coordinator in the Seattle
17:19
Seahawks. He was their defensive line coach as well for a period of time.
17:23
And I want to really quick mention our friend Shane Half that we have
17:29
had on every now and again to talk some Eagles. He put out some
17:32
stats with regard to his coaching and where the Seattle Seahawks defense ranked in terms
17:41
of sacks. So from twenty twenty two to twenty twenty three, he was
17:45
the defensive coordinator in Seattle. From twenty seventeen to twenty twenty one when he
17:52
was their defensive line coach. So in let's say, from two thousand and
17:56
twenty one, they were twenty third in sacks. In twenty twenty two,
18:02
they were seventh in sacks. Again the Seattle Seahawks. In twenty twenty three,
18:06
they were eleventh in sacks. This is a team that didn't have the
18:11
greatest defensive line out there in Seattle, and yes, while being ranked twenty
18:14
third, not really all that great. In fact, in twenty twenty they
18:18
were ranked seventh, So not the greatest numbers in terms of DVOA where last
18:22
year they were twenty fifth. Twenty twenty two they were ranked twenty fourth.
18:26
In twenty twenty one they were ranked eighth. Still, these numbers are not
18:30
terrible by any stretch of the imagination. I guess some folks may say perhaps
18:36
average or maybe a little bit above average. But I like this hire a
18:38
lot because they actually have a guy in here who has played the position and
18:44
he's been able to get out of his players. I think what other defensive
18:48
line coordinators may not have been able to get out of their players. So
18:52
that's why, as we were talking about you know what to possibly expect from
18:55
the defense with under Vic Fangio, I think having a solid defensive line coach
19:03
like Clint Hurt is really going to put this defensive line hopefully in a better
19:07
position in the future, because I don't think I don't think they could have
19:08
gotten any worse than they were. Just lack of sacks, lack of press
19:12
pressure this past season, especially the last half of the season, and you
19:17
can't fall out of a basement window, and that's basically with this Eagles defense
19:21
and the defensive front were so I like, the higher man, what are
19:23
your thoughts? I mean, yeah, this is a you know, and
19:27
I know all the attention is being paid to you know, his his you
19:30
know, physique and his stature because he's you know, a gigantic dude.
19:34
Yeah, but you know, hey, he's a mountain of a man.
19:37
And you know, the Eagles have a you know, a mountain of a
19:41
man you know in the middle of their line who had a bye you know
19:44
self Admittedly, you know, he had a disappointing year last year in Jordan
19:48
Davis. He knows he fell off, so it'll be interesting, you know,
19:51
you got you know, he knows he needs to be better. And
19:55
then you have a guy that is, you know, kind of really big
19:59
like and maybe he can do some things with him and mold him a little
20:03
bit, maybe do something with Jail and Carter, And you know, I
20:06
don't really know how much needs to be done there because Carter's you know,
20:10
when he's on his game, he's he's a freak. Oh yeah, but
20:14
yeah, I'll be interested to see how he does with those younger guys,
20:17
because I feel like there's maybe more defensive line raw talent there in Philadelphia.
20:22
Then maybe there was towards the end of his tenure in Seattle, which was
20:26
a club that let's you know, I don't know. I mean, I
20:30
just feel like they are kind of past their best years by the end of
20:34
his run there in Seattle. Yeah, yeah, I totally agree with you.
20:37
All right, good Eagles talk. Enjoyed that. Let us know your
20:41
thoughts. We would love to hear from you. But if you are new
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to listening to the show, subscribe on whatever podcast platform you're on. If
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21:22
Let's take that quick break to pay some bills. We'll be right back,
21:26
all right, Len good heaven y on. As I always say,
21:27
but when we have Flyers talk, man, it's good to have you on
21:32
because I can't do this with Eric. He tried watching a Flyers game this
21:36
past week, he said on our text thread, and it's when they got
21:38
the crap kicked out of him? Who are they playing over the weekend where
21:41
they got the crap kicked out of him? Was like five to nine.
21:44
Didn't they play Detroit? Yes, it was the Red Wings. Yeah,
21:47
yeah, oh gosh. He puts he actually puts the game on and he's
21:49
like, this is awful. They're getting killed. Yeah. I mean he's
21:53
just not a hockey high again, but yeah, that's a bad game.
21:57
To try to tune into it. And they exactly know they had been doing
22:00
well. They've hit a rough patch here. You can't help but wonder,
22:06
and we'll probably get into it a little bit, how much of that is
22:10
what's going on with the whole heart situation. And you wonder if that is
22:15
kind of because you know, if you know, if it was leading up
22:19
to him leaving beforehand. There had to be rumblings beforehand, and you know
22:25
apparently you know, they're saying Brier try to trade him in the off season,
22:27
and you know, people knew that perhaps this was coming down the pike.
22:30
Yeah, So if that's the case, was you know, the fact
22:34
that there it's ramping up and really you know, getting to the point where
22:38
the police are ready to call people win it? Did that, you know,
22:42
affect the team in some way, shape or form, because it has
22:45
been you know, after a surprisingly really good start to the year, the
22:49
past week or so has been has been a little rough. I was going
22:52
to ask you about that if we're seeing this rough patch with the Flyers now,
22:56
who have been fighters out there, and they look at times to be
23:00
a little lethargic, like like they got something on their mind, to be
23:03
honest with you, And I wonder if the situation with Carter Hart knowing what
23:07
his future is up against right now, is actually having an adverse effect on
23:12
this team. I think it's possible, then, I mean I don't I
23:18
don't see how something you know, if and I you know, listen,
23:23
you know, innocent until proven guilty, obviously, blah blah, blah.
23:26
But it's hard to read about what happened, and you know, you know,
23:30
there was a prior investigation they demanded to be reopened. It's hard to
23:36
think at this point that these guys that are involved aren't guilty. Yeah,
23:42
and just you know, when you read about what happened, it's it's a
23:47
lot. I don't you know. If if I'm in that clubhouse and that
23:52
guy is there leading up to it, I'm just in my own head,
23:56
I'm like, get this guy back out of here. Guilty. They should
24:00
never play in the NHL again. I mean if if they are found guilty
24:04
and they do, I mean, that's you know, I mean, you're
24:08
you're asking people to turn their backs on hockey honestly, and in the league.
24:12
I mean, if they were guilty and they somehow get back in the
24:15
league, yeah, I mean, if they were found guilty, if they're
24:19
yeah, yeah, and yeah, I think at that point, I think
24:23
hockey is at least of their worries. I think, uh, you know,
24:26
their their future lodging accommodations are going to be a bigger issue than than
24:30
you know, them not being able to play hockey. So yeah, well
24:33
we'll have to see how all that goes, but you can't help but think
24:37
maybe you know that that you know it is going into their their skin a
24:41
little bit. Yeah, I absolutely agree. But the one thing we're not
24:47
going to have to worry about len and let's get into some of these contractory
24:49
structures and extensions here. I was so happy when I heard about the own
24:56
Tippett uh re signing to a contract extension and eight year contract extension which is
25:03
a total of forty nine point six million. The average annual value of the
25:07
deal is six point two million. I really like this, I really do,
25:14
you know. I don't think that there are any significant red flags in
25:18
his profile in terms of shooting percentage or performance above expectation. It feels like
25:23
he's a guy that you can put in your top six and expect to put
25:26
up, you know, twenty five to thirty goals in a season. If
25:29
he does stay healthy, he's going to be going through the prime of his
25:34
hockey life in a Philadelphia Flyers uniform. And what he's given this team thus
25:40
far, and I think he can develop even more. I love this contract
25:42
and I think it's really good for this team long term. The rebuild here
25:45
is happening that's what we're seeing. That's what part of this is here,
25:48
right Lan, Yeah, I mean I would say so, you know,
25:52
we've kind of lamented the fact in recent years that the Flyers, you know,
25:56
feel like they have a ton of bottom six guys and really not much
26:00
top end talent. I think Owen Tippett has kind of you know, made
26:06
made himself because he was, you know, I think a top ten pick
26:10
in his draft. He was a guy that when they made the trade with
26:14
Florida to get him, you know, the thing on him was, man,
26:18
this guy's got all the tools. He's supposed to be a good scorer.
26:21
We just don't know why he can't finish. And then he's maybe a
26:23
testament to like, you know, sometimes it just takes you know, guys
26:27
a little bit for it to click and for things to start happening for him,
26:32
because ever since he's come to Philadelphi, even last towards the tail end
26:34
last year, it felt like, you know, he he was kind of
26:38
scoring a little bit more than he ever was prior to to that, right,
26:44
right, and then that's carried over into this year where he's been he's
26:45
been great. He's he's been a guy that you know, when you talk
26:48
about him being all the second line or maybe maybe in the first line,
26:53
you don't feel like you're playing a guy out of position there, you know
26:56
what I mean. You don't feel like he's playing a line or so up
27:00
from where he should be. That that is his talent level and that is
27:04
what you need more of, especially, you know with with Gautier, you
27:08
know a guy that you thought was going to be a key guy in your
27:12
top six offensively with him on now you know, okay, they they have
27:18
Mitchkoff when when he comes over, but you know what else do you have?
27:21
You connect He's a good player, but you know you need more,
27:25
You need more, And I think Tippet is showing that he's going to be
27:27
one of those guys that that is going to be able to be relied on
27:30
in that position. I was actually listening to the Hockey Network on on Serious
27:37
XM and then when the when the deal was done and they're talking about it,
27:41
and the one guy was like it. The only reason I'm mad about
27:45
it was because I think he, you know, could have held out a
27:48
little bit and bet on himself a little more and gotten a better deal,
27:52
like they the Flyers got him in a good deal, and I feel like
27:56
if he would have kind of held out until the end of the year,
28:00
maybe he could have gotten even war money out of them. So yeah,
28:03
I mean, it's it seems on the surface like it's a really good deal
28:07
for a young player that you know is just entering his prime. So it's
28:11
it's a great thing to say. I know, we're gonna let you go
28:14
in a little bit here, Lynn, I know, because of work and
28:17
stuff like that. You got to get going and stuff. We also want
28:19
to talk about Ryan Polling and his re signing to a two year extension as
28:25
well, but really quick with regard to Owen Tippett. When I heard the
28:27
signing too, I was wondering if this is the impedus for possibly trading Travis
28:33
connect Me in the future, because they have a lot of good right wingers
28:37
that are young and that are talented, and look, I don't want to
28:40
necessarily see Travis connect Me go, but I'm a little bit concerned about how
28:44
much money he's gonna want to stay. And then and then as I'm thinking
28:48
about it more, I'm like, well, I'll believe it when I see
28:49
it. If they're gonna trade TK here, but I don't know. I
28:53
was kind of thinking to myself, this might be the impetus for them to
28:56
get some assets for Travis connect Me here, you know, whether it's a
29:00
season of course, maybe perhaps next season again they have a lot of good
29:03
right wingers. I don't know, it's something I thought about well, And
29:07
that's you know, the one thing in terms of you know, signing guys
29:12
and that kind of thing is in the NHL the cap. For the past
29:15
couple of years, ever since you know, COVID, the cap has been
29:19
pretty staggered. It hasn't really gone up much. And from what i've you
29:23
know, read, that is expected to change starting this coming off season.
29:29
They're kind of finally, maybe for far enough away from this thing that you
29:32
know, they're going to start bumping that cap up a little bit, so
29:34
everybody's going to have a little bit more space to play with than they previously
29:40
had. Connect Me was a guy that you know, if you told me
29:42
coming into this year, before the year that he was going to get traded
29:47
for young absence, I would have said, yeah, sure, that's a
29:49
logical move because he's the most But at this point, with the way they've
29:56
been playing, and you know, maybe is it looked at now like,
30:00
you know, if you trade this guy, are you just saying we're giving
30:04
up on winning for now because we're still building. I think that they're kind
30:10
of stuck in that middle there where they're just like, you know, maybe
30:14
he can be a guy that you know, is with this team through the
30:15
whole thing. Maybe, you know, because he is their best player,
30:18
you know, do we want to trade him right now when when things are
30:22
are going well and they're in this playoff hunt? I don't know. I
30:26
you know, they talk about, you know, the future, and they
30:29
talk about, you know, things like that. Even Tortorella says the right
30:32
things. But I just can't think of Tortorella ever saying let's not go for
30:37
it. He just doesn't seem that kind of guy. So, you know,
30:41
they want to build for the future, but they don't want to They're
30:45
they're they're not going to completely abandoned ship. Like the guys that are that
30:48
are going to be moving I think are more of you know, the Sean
30:52
Walker's, the Nick Steelers not so much you know, a their best offensive
30:59
weapon and connect At this point, I would be pretty surprised. Well,
31:03
Danny Brier re signed Owen tipp It to an eight year contract extension, and
31:07
then just a few hours later it was reported that they re signed depth forward
31:11
Ryan Poling to a two year, eight three point eight million dollar contract extension
31:17
that's going to hold the cap hit of one point nine million. It's a
31:19
pretty pretty team friendly based contract. Len And he joined the team. Polling
31:26
did when he was an unrestricted free agent last summer after not being qualified by
31:30
the Pittsburgh Penguins, so due to his age and just signing a one year,
31:34
one point four million dollar deal with the Flyers, he was pending restricted
31:40
free agent, so such a low cap hit there isn't really much of a
31:44
risk here for the Flyers. But look, he is somebody who is a
31:48
depth piece for this team. And I think when you were just talking about
31:52
you know, whether Sean Walker, Nick Seal or you know, Mark Stall,
31:56
they could all be dealt before the trade deadline. You know, it's
31:59
good to have player like Polling here in terms of that depth piece, you
32:04
know, for the foreseeable future. Yeah, and one point ninety years is
32:08
probably good for what he is, and that's a fourth line center. I
32:12
mean, you know, it's and their fourth line with him and Gardener Hathaway
32:16
has been really good this year, really good. So yeah, I mean
32:22
I think that's you know, about the going right for a fourth line center.
32:24
They they know who he is, they know what he does. I
32:29
don't think they're expecting much more than that out of him. So I mean,
32:35
yeah, it's and he's again he's in that you know, that same
32:37
age range, like twenty five years old, in that same neighborhood as Tippet,
32:42
where this is a guy that you know, you you might feel like
32:45
you can grow with a little bit. So I get I get the signing.
32:49
I get good for him forgetting, you know, a couple of years.
32:51
I mean, you know, guys that are you know, fourth liners,
32:54
you know, nothing's guaranteed, you know, you you know, very
32:59
rarely you know, those guys get long term deals or whatever. So if
33:02
you've got a couple of years of security with a team, then that's awesome.
33:07
I mean, that's that's you know, for for someone in that position
33:10
in the league. It's a good thing. So I'm glad he got it,
33:14
and he's been really good for them this year. Absolutely all right,
33:16
Well, lend Buddy I'm gonna let you get going here, get some sleep,
33:21
my friend. You have any final thoughts before you head out, I
33:25
just really em beads, okay, and they're smart with them. So yeah,
33:31
we'll see what happens there. Yeah, we'll see what happens there for
33:34
sure. All Right, buddy, I'm gonna let you go, and when
33:36
we get back, we're gonna have some Sixers talk. We've got a great
33:38
guest coming on. Stick around for it. All right, we are back.
33:43
Let's get into that Sixers talk because this team is going through a little
33:49
bit of a bizarre stretch here from what we've seen for most of the season.
33:52
We got a great guest. That's what we're thrown down on the table
33:55
and now on the table, and it is great to have back on the
34:01
podcast to get into this Philadelphia seventy six ers team, what's been happening with
34:06
them, what we can expect in the future with regard to the trade deadline.
34:09
Talent on the team we have from Pickswap Media and you can also hear
34:15
him on Fox Sports Phillies The Gambler. He's one of the good friends of
34:20
the podcast and I absolutely love talking to him. Sean Bernard. How you
34:22
doing, buddy, Yeah, it's great to be back on the pod.
34:25
Great to be chatting with you, Jeff. I hate that we hit a
34:28
little bit of the low point of the Sixers land after what was a pretty
34:30
smooth sailing season to this point. So I wish I was on a little
34:34
bit better terms in mindset. But get to be back and chatted up.
34:37
For sure. It's great to have you, my man, it really is.
34:38
And you know, I've really been like this season as you mentioned,
34:42
you know, things were just rolling along smoothly. Now we have some hiccups,
34:45
and it really got me to thinking and reflecting on this Sixers organization and
34:51
just kind of the resiliency that they've had over the years after of course making
34:55
some huge mistakes over the past ten years that we all know about. I
35:00
mean, I think what they've gone through over the past ten years would be
35:02
enough to sink any NBA organization and team for a generation. Quite frankly,
35:08
you know, whether it was Markel Foltz not panning out after trading up to
35:13
get him, they drafted julil okafor they maxed out Tobias Harris. As we
35:17
know, the Ben Simmons saga doc rivers that experiment at head coach. I'm
35:22
wondering, Sean, what was the what was the one move or even maybe
35:28
a non move perhaps that this organization has made over the years that was terrible
35:35
that still surprises and baffles you to this day, given this team's you know,
35:39
overall general success, you know, over these past few years. Yeah,
35:44
I love this question, and this is something that I had a tough
35:46
time putting my hand on that one thing. Yeah, And honestly, I'm
35:51
a little bit more sympathetic to these Sixers than I think at most and I
35:53
think in a lot of these situations, the revision is history obviously, the
35:58
twenty twenty hindsight that you can look back and tell, like some of these
36:00
Markel Foltz, for example, like look phenomenal at watch, absolutely terrific in
36:06
college. And to see his thoracic outlet syndrome or whatever that official shoulder injury
36:10
happened to, like, that's one of the most unpredictable things. Sure you
36:15
could have had a look at him before the actual draft, and who knows
36:17
what the behind closed door is, what the Sixers knew, what they didn't,
36:21
So that to me, I kind of excuse. Same with like the
36:22
the Ben Simmons Jimmy Butler thing, allowing Jimmy Butler to walk and ultimately choosing
36:27
Ben Simmons. Obviously more details in the story than it being as simple as
36:30
that, But that's another thing where looking back and seeing the version of Ben
36:34
Simmons what he currently is clearly a dumb decision. But at the time,
36:37
when he is a twenty one year old All Star, a guy that looks
36:39
like an up and coming superstar, it made sense to commit to him.
36:43
And Jimmy Butler, by the way, did not have nearly the reputation at
36:45
that point that he currently does. The guy that is a playoff riser that
36:50
has taken teams on runs to that point, he had not do that.
36:52
To that point. He had flamed out in Minnesota, flamed out in Chicago.
36:54
So I kind of have a tough time with the excuse. I guess
36:58
as far as the actual decision, I'll go with picking julil okafor if that
37:01
I think all the time I didn't love the Oka four pick. I thought
37:06
that he's such an old fashioned player and such a post oriented player that in
37:08
addition to having the collection of centers which they already did at that point.
37:13
It just didn't make sense to me from a guy that fit the modern MBA,
37:15
and clearly that has proven true. So I guess I'll go Oka four,
37:17
and I'll even throw in just not giving Sam Hanky the least that he
37:22
deserved in that case, because I am the Hanky guy at Hart for sure.
37:23
Yeah. Yeah, it's really interesting to think about that topic, and
37:27
I'd love to hear from you all out there, Philadelphia Sports Table at gmail
37:30
dot com, what your thoughts are. Do you like what Sean said in
37:34
my agreement with him on this as well? Because I believe it's Juliel okafor
37:37
as well. I remember us talking about that particular pick on this podcast back
37:43
when it happened. Yes, that's how long we have been around, but
37:46
still it's it's an interesting notion. Anyway, I'd love to hear from you
37:50
all out there again, Philadelphia Sports Table at gmail dot com. We'll read
37:53
your email here on the show and respond to it for sure. And you
37:58
know, as we're moving along here, Sean really wanted to get into what
38:01
we've been seeing from this Sixers team, and even even Joel Embiid to an
38:07
extent. I mean they at this point, you know, they have lost
38:09
four in a row. Meanwhile, the Knicks have basically won eight in a
38:14
row as of us recording this, and it really has hurt not having a
38:19
one hundred percent Joel Embiid out there on the court. And he came back
38:22
against the Warriors this week, but I mean, I'm really concerned about his
38:27
well being. I'm concerned about the positioning of this team because of his health
38:30
down the stretch here. Personally, I think that they need to rest him
38:37
and if it needs to be a rest for a good two or three weeks,
38:39
whatever the case is, he needs to get better and to make sure
38:43
he is healthy for the postseason straight up, like that needs to happen for
38:49
sure. Obviously I've been reading your tweets. I think you think the same
38:52
way. If you want to give your overall thoughts here on Embiid and just
38:55
what has been happening here or not happening, I'd love to hear it.
38:59
Man, I'm totally with you, and to kind of put the full context.
39:01
That game against the Warriors, which at the point of recording this was
39:05
last night, was absolutely like a game changing moment from my entire minds,
39:07
mindset of things that from start to finish, it looked like he did not
39:10
belong on that floor, that he was not up to himself for remotely a
39:14
version of Joel Andbie that should have been playing basketball. And to me,
39:16
what's kind of like stark with that is from all the reports that Joel wanted
39:22
to play against Denver, that the Sixers stepped in and said you can't go,
39:24
you're not healthy enough, did not go against Portland, that he didn't
39:27
look good enough to suit up for that game. I don't know how bad
39:30
he must have looked then, because from my eyes, like from start to
39:34
finish, he was not ready against them the state. Yeah, and ultimately
39:36
the Sixers and Joel are going to pay the price for that that. Like
39:38
as much as I totally agree he should be shut down, they might not
39:42
even be able to make that decision that depending on what the MRIs come back
39:45
and what this injury is, the decision may very well be made for them.
39:49
But I absolutely agree that wave the white flag on the MVP talks that
39:52
he's not going to get to that game number and frankly, the priority must
39:55
be getting him at least a healthy version for himself for the playoffs. I
39:59
don't care if I don't see him for a month or whatever it takes.
40:01
At that point, we know the level that he can play at. We've
40:05
seen him be the best player in the NBA for a stretch this season.
40:07
Don't risk anything from the postseason standpoint, it should all be about that.
40:12
And if he plays like every other game from here on out and is geared
40:15
up for playoffs, I'm alright with that, Like that should be the mindset
40:17
from here on out as everything. And I do think that overall, just
40:21
the conversations, the discord surrounding his knee, him playing, him not playing,
40:24
has been really reckless and irresponsible from a lot of outlets, a lot
40:28
of people out there. Yeah, and it's really a shame how much like
40:30
it comes down in this guy that it bothers me, how much like it
40:35
is taken as we forget like this is a human being. This is a
40:37
guy that has such a drastic like injury history and has overcome a ton of
40:43
obstacles, so very frustrating me feel bad for the guy, and hopefully for
40:45
everyone's sake, that the injury is not too severe. I feel like most
40:49
fans out there view Joe El embiid as a machine that he is some sort
40:52
of just robotic machine that needs to be oiled here and there or that needs
40:59
a tune up every now and then. He's not a machine, like he
41:00
said, He's a human being. And there was a lot of wear and
41:04
tear on those legs, on those knees, on that entire body that we
41:07
have seen on the court for some time here, and it leads me to
41:12
believe that we actually could see some more problems with this Sixers team here because
41:15
when Joel Embid is not in the court, we know what happens, you
41:17
know. I mean, yes, things have got a little bit better in
41:20
terms of productivity from the bench, I think this year in terms of you
41:22
know, where they were at in previous years. You know, they're not
41:27
necessarily getting completely waxed all the time if Joel Embid's not on the court.
41:31
But I do wonder how concerned we should be with this team right now in
41:37
the East as as a ton of vulnerabilities have just really crept up with other
41:42
aspects of this team. Sean. This is a Sixers team that was third
41:45
in the East before that game against the Warriors this week, and now they
41:50
are fifth in the East and just continuing to fall here with the vulnerabilities we're
41:54
seen on the court from this team that, like I said, have crept
41:58
up kind of rather quickly here. Like how concerned really should we be?
42:01
Yeah, I'm probably lower at the lower end of that scale that I'm not
42:05
a big guy that cares about seeding. That to me, I think from
42:07
top to bottom, the East is probably the deepest it's been in many years.
42:10
When you look one through eight, that the way that the team's gonna
42:14
match up, that none of these first round matchups, meaning the Knicks,
42:16
the Pacers, the Heat, even the Magic I'll throw in there, the
42:19
Calves, you can't forget about. None of those teams are gonna be cakewalk
42:22
matchups for the first round. And that's not even including the Bucks and the
42:24
Celtics and then the Sixers, which is a top eight of kind of how
42:27
I expect things to shape out there. Obviously you want to avoid a top
42:30
end matchup with the Celtics or Bucks that you don't want that to be your
42:32
first matchup. But that other middle of the pack, you can kind of
42:36
look at the strengths and weaknesses of each team, so if they end up
42:38
the fifth seed and playing a four seed or a team like that. I'm
42:40
not gonna be that concerned over things that. Frankly, you gotta be the
42:45
best team. If you're gonna be the best team, that you're gonna have
42:46
to beat everyone to get to that point. So I'm not as caught up
42:49
that from a ton, I don't think this team slips to the point where
42:52
they're out of the playoff danger or not making quick playoffs or things like that.
42:55
Even playing I think is a little unrealistic that I do think that they
42:59
find a way to be in that top six number. So I'm not as
43:01
concerned as most. I'm not as caught up in the seating as most.
43:04
I get the frustrations and concern from that angle, but for me, I
43:07
just look at the Eastern Conference. This is a lot of teams going all
43:09
in. When you look at the Pacers getting Pascal Siaka, the Heat getting
43:13
Terry Rose here, the Knicks getting Og and Andobi. These are all good
43:15
teams. So you're going to have to play some tough teams. To me,
43:19
it doesn't matter too much where who's the top or who's the bottom.
43:22
When you're looking at things, it's a deep conference, folks like Sean just
43:24
said, and I think we've really got to keep that in mind as we're
43:27
moving forward here, heading into February for sure. And of course we need
43:30
to talk about the trade deadline. I mean, that's gonna it's just around
43:34
the corner here, Sean, and I want to give you a few players
43:37
that have been rumored to be in the mix for the Sixers, and I'd
43:39
love to get your feedback on why or why not they would be good and
43:45
a good fit actually for this Sixers team and unit, and why they might
43:51
be good to play on this team during this latter part of the season.
43:53
So let's get started with a few names. I've got like five names for
43:58
you here. Let's start off with Gordon Hayward. Do you think he'd be
44:00
a good fit for this team? Should they go after a talent like Gordon
44:05
Hayward? Why or why not? Yeah? I like Gordon Hayward. I
44:07
would take him. He's not the guy that I have circled or at the
44:09
top of my list, or a guy that I'm saying is the difference for
44:12
a championship for me. He's very much in a talent standpoint similar to Tobias
44:15
Harris. I think he's a slightly better fit than Harris, particularly as a
44:20
shooter, more willing shooter. Harris, I've been particularly frustrated with this year,
44:22
shooting the lowest three point attempt since twenty fifteen to twenty sixteen season,
44:28
by far, the lowest in a sixties uniform, which you just can't really
44:30
have around Joell Embiid. So I do think Hayward improves in that area.
44:34
He's kind of a forgotten man playing down there in Charlotte. There have been
44:37
some rumors of him being a buyout candidate, which if that's the case,
44:39
I'm all in for. That would probably be like the best buyout candidate I've
44:43
seen in my entire lifetime. If he was just available to add so I
44:46
would absolutely be in. If that's the case, it would be a little
44:50
bit tough getting to his number from a trade standpoint, So I'd be into
44:52
Gordon Hayward, but not a guy that's probably at the top my list.
44:55
I would say, Okay, this next guy. I believe you shot off
45:00
tweet saying you don't want anything to deal with him. I could be wrong,
45:02
but I think you did. Kyle Lowry, Yeah, that's with him.
45:08
There was a point in time where I would be all in on Kyle
45:10
Lowry being on the Sixers team. That's a couple of years ago at this
45:14
point. And particularly I'll shout out Patrick Beverley for playing far above my expectations
45:19
this year that you could argue he's having the best offensive season of his career,
45:22
and he's really stepped up in some moments when they have been shorthanded,
45:24
particularly in this recent stretch without Tyrese Maxey. So I don't think there's much
45:29
that Kyle Lowry brings that Patrick Beverley doesn't. He's another guy that kind of
45:32
fits in this like I would take him on the team. I wouldn't be
45:36
mad if he's here, But if that's like the move or the difference maker
45:38
for the Sixers, I just disagree with that. So I would take him
45:42
on a buy out absolutely. I think it's fairly likely that he ends up
45:45
in a Sixers uniform for the second half of the season. Yeah, but
45:47
not a guy that I think moves the needle to the extent that I would
45:50
like it to be. I definitely agree with you on that for sure.
45:52
And this next gentleman, I'm gonna be interested to hear what you have to
45:54
say. Bogie bow jumping, begone bench. Where what do you think?
46:00
Yes or no? Because I think he could be he could be a really
46:04
good piece for this team. I don't know what are your thoughts. Yeah,
46:06
that's my favorite name that we've loilt so far that I think, like
46:09
for me, I've kind of boiled down to my top priority at the trade
46:13
deadline. I think they need like a high volume three point shooter and that's
46:15
what Bogdanovich does that he is the guy that's willing to let it fly.
46:17
I think he would immediately be the best shooter on the Sixers team. And
46:21
we've seen throughout the season is how much shooters benefit playing next to Joel Embiid,
46:24
whether it be JJ Reddick, Seth Curry that you can georgie' niang another
46:29
one with that, the names kind of go on and on as guys that
46:30
were maximis playing next to the gravity of Embiid. Think Bogdanovitch would fit that
46:35
same bill and just having a guy willing to launch seven plus three pointers in
46:38
a game think changes the look of this offense. So I love that name
46:42
a lot, absolutely, all Right, Next name here. I read in
46:45
a recent article and I was like a little taken aback by it, but
46:49
thinking about it might be interesting, And that's Killian Hayes. What do you
46:52
think you have? Not a Killian Hayes guy either. I think I've to
46:57
be honest. You can fact check me on my tweets, but I think
46:59
they're points in time where I've argued that Killing Hayes is the worst player in
47:01
the entire NBA, that in theory what he should be. You can squint
47:07
and see it, but just I don't get the least that they have in
47:08
him in Detroit. I liked him coming out of the draft a little bit.
47:13
He hasn't really fulfilled things and I think, frankly they're sitting better players
47:16
for him in Detroit. So I'm not a Killian Hayes guy. Wouldn't love
47:19
that? All right? Sounds good? Yeah? I saw that from I
47:22
saw that from a couple people, and some an actual article written about him,
47:24
Like my gosh, Like is what is this? What's going on here?
47:29
No? No, let's not do yes. Well, last, the
47:32
last name I wanted to give you here, Sean is Malcolm Brogden. What
47:37
are your thoughts with him what he could potentially do to help this team.
47:39
Do you think it's a possibility I do. This is probably I would say
47:43
the most realistic, and he would fall my my number two, probably behind
47:45
Bogdanovic on this list here that I like the creation ability of Progden and Brogden.
47:51
It's never been an ability question. It's always been an availability thing with
47:53
him. That he does have an injury history, but this dude was six
47:57
Man of the Year last season for the Celtics and toward the sixers up in
48:00
that playoff series shot over fifty percent from three in that in that playoff series
48:04
against Philadelphia, so there should be some strong reminders what he can still do.
48:08
I like the idea of adding some secondary ball handling to this team that
48:12
can play on or off ball, particularly to free up Tyrese Maxi. That
48:15
I think that there is a little bit too much on Maxi's shoulders from an
48:17
on ball standpoint, with them not having that many options. And Maxy is
48:21
good enough as a shooter that you can absolutely play him off ball and just
48:23
give him a break for stretches. So I like the flexibility that Brogden brings
48:28
on. He's got decent size, and is a Pass Bowl defender as well,
48:30
So I like Brogden quite a bit. He does have a twenty million
48:32
dollar cap or twenty two point five million dollar cap hit for next year,
48:36
which I think will make Daryl Morey a little bit weary of it. But
48:38
he's a guy that I think is absolutely gonna be traded and help a contender
48:42
this year. And I would love love it if it is the Sixers.
48:45
I gotta tell you, folks, we know it's gonna happen. There's gonna
48:46
be some sort of trade. That's what I mean. There's gonna be some
48:49
sort of trade. Daryl Morey is not gonna let this trade deadline pass,
48:52
especially at this point where Joel Embiid may need to be sidelined for a little
48:55
bit. We are going to see something for sure. And again, folks,
48:59
we're talking Sean Bernard from Pickswap Media, great great podcast over there,
49:04
and also he's a Sixers, an NBA insider over at Fox Sports, the
49:08
Phillies Gambler, a great great follow on Twitter at Seawan Underscore Bernard One.
49:14
Please give him a follow. You're gonna enjoy his tweets for sure. Moving
49:16
along here, buddy A few more topics, and this next one is something
49:21
that you know we've talked about in the past, and that is the Sixers
49:23
defense. We've talked about it before when you've been on the pod, and
49:27
as we look at what this team is doing here this season, I feel
49:30
like from a postseason perspective, having another defender would really be fantastic and somewhat
49:36
necessary if they want to, you know, get out of the second round.
49:38
At this point here, should the Sixers target a really really good defender
49:43
perhaps at the trade deadline. Do you think they would have the amo to
49:45
do that. Yeah, that would be number two on my wish list that
49:50
I do have the high volume three point shooter. Number two that I would
49:52
have a pretty lockdown defender, particularly of that wing variety. A guy that
49:55
has jumped out to me a little bit from the bargain bend would be Dorian
49:59
Finney Smith. He's a guy that seems gettable and has been proven in a
50:01
playoff run. Had an awesome run with that Dallas Mavericks team back when they
50:06
went to the Western Conference Finals. He's a bit of a hot and cold
50:07
shooter, so a guy that like you can't fully rely on, but it
50:10
would be an option that at the end of the day, when you think
50:13
about what could be the downfall this team, I still have questions of who's
50:16
gonna be that guy guarding Jason Tatum, reguarding Giannis or these top tier perimeter
50:20
players that they're going to have to go through, even a Donovan Mitchell or
50:22
a Pascal Siakam. Even so, it is I would love like more options
50:27
that way. I think Niko Batum has been awesome as a primary defender and
50:30
has been tasked with some really tough matchups, but that's a lot on his
50:32
shoulders as well. Anthony Meltain has been banged up, and while he plays
50:37
far bigger than his frame, at the end of the day, he's still
50:38
six foot two, so he's just going to struggle from a size standpoint against
50:42
some of these guys. So I definitely would love for him to bring in
50:44
a defender and particularly to match up with that wing position for sure. Yeah,
50:47
I completely agree with you here. And as we're moving along in the
50:52
discussion, I really wanted to talk about a conversation reflecting on again conversation my
50:59
co host and I had last week on the show, specifically about Doc Rivers
51:04
and now coaching the Bucks and what he may be able to give that team
51:08
and how inevitably it could potentially impact the seventy six ers, And I'd love
51:13
to get your thoughts, Sean on whether or not that team may actually see
51:17
some improvements and if US Sixers fans really should have any concern when it comes
51:22
to Doc Rivers up there in Milwaukee. Yeah. No, I think we've
51:24
seen the Doc Rivers experience front and center and has been pretty thrilled to be
51:29
watching it from AFAR up there in Milwaukee. So yes, I will say
51:31
I think Adrian Griffin got a bit of a bum rap that. I think
51:34
like there are some defensive issues with that team. Griffin was by far he
51:37
was not a superb coach by any means, and I understand the frustrations with
51:40
him. It's a lot of pressure being a first time head coach and having
51:44
legitimate championship aspirations and expectations, so I don't think he quite lived up to
51:47
that bar and Doc Rivers. Frankly, I don't know what you can look
51:51
at in the past ten to fifteen years of what he's done and believe that
51:53
he is that guy. I know the years ten fifteen years. That's a
51:58
lot of time. Show think about the last time or the Phillies have won
52:04
a World Series before the eight World Series was after Doc rivers yeampionship. That
52:09
that is that long ago exactly. Oh my gosh, yeah, go ahead.
52:14
I sorry to interrupt you. No, you're good. It is insane.
52:16
And I do think that there are some real deal concerns with that team,
52:20
like some that aren't Griffin's fault, like when you go from Drew Holliday
52:22
to Dame Lillard as your primary perimeter defender, you're going to be a worst
52:25
defensive team. That Drew Holliday among the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and
52:30
Damian Lillard among the worst. That he makes up for it on the offensive
52:32
end, But that give and take is going to reflect on that team.
52:35
So I feel pretty good about Doc Rivers being the guy steering the ship over
52:38
there. And I do think from the Sixers standpoint, that should have increased
52:42
their optimism and their desire to go all in at the deadline. Absolutely well.
52:45
Sticking with the coaching talk here and final topic I wanted to really get
52:50
into with you here, Sean is Nick Nurse. I mean, he has
52:53
done a phenomenal job this season. There's no doubt about it. I mean,
52:58
he really has been revelation for this Sixers team. And when it comes
53:02
to engineering schemes, you know, he really is I think unmatched by just
53:07
about any other coach out there, and I think it's just a complete blessing
53:10
that he is in Philadelphia. So I guess to close us out here,
53:15
does Nick Nurse deserve some chatter at this point about possibly being Coach of the
53:20
Year. What do you think? Yeah, I think so, and I
53:22
think honestly it's gonna be a little bit sinker swim in that conversation for how
53:25
he navigates the likely Joel Embiid miss extended time coming up here that I think
53:30
he deserves a ton of credit for the growth that Embiid has taken this year.
53:34
That think about this guy winning MVP last year and averaging more points,
53:37
rebounds, assists, deals and blocks in fewer minutes per game. The assist
53:40
specifically, I'll shout out that I give Nurse a ton of credit for that.
53:44
I never thought it was Joelle being that deficient as a playmaker. I
53:47
thought a lot of it was him not having the options to play make with
53:51
that. Yeah, in that Doc Rivers offense, it was so much stand
53:52
around and watch Joel Embiid that now you're seeing some downscreens, some cuts,
53:57
some back door cuts, some off ball. These are like options that Joel
54:00
has to play make with and we're seeing over two more assists per game for
54:04
him this year. So I give Nurse a ton of credit for really revitalizing
54:07
this offense as a whole. And defensively, they switch schemes defensively, like
54:10
every single stoppage, every time out, every break they're switching up into a
54:15
one three one zone or a two to three bocks and one. It's something
54:17
different at every single stop. And that's something that I've never seen a coach
54:21
like be that active for so very impressed with what he's done. He'll ultimately
54:24
be judged by the playoffs is obviously, that's why he's here to take him
54:28
over the edge. But he is a guy who won a championship in his
54:30
first season as the Raptors head coach, who knows maybe we can find lightning
54:34
twice. Oh my gosh, let's find that lightning for sure again. Folks.
54:37
Follow Sewan on Twitter at shown under score Bernard one again Fox Sports Phillies
54:44
the Gambler you can hear him there and he's also the founder of Pickswap Media.
54:49
Great podcast, buddy, it was great talking to you. I would
54:52
love to talk to you again down the road. Let's talk some more Sixers,
54:55
man, because I think, like you said, that lightning in a
54:58
bottle, we are hopefully going to be seeing that. I'd love to talk
55:00
to you more about it in the future, my man, absolutely would love
55:02
to and hopefully they bounce back from a little bit of a cold. Seek
55:06
and sending prayers for Joel safean speed you tocovery for sure. Look it's a
55:10
critical time for the Philadelphia seventy six ers, of course with Joel Embiid,
55:15
like he's just everything. And like I said during the conversation, you know,
55:19
I think we all kind of need to get out of that mind frame
55:22
that Joel Embiid is this machine which we have become so accustomed to being so
55:27
reliant on over these past few years. I mean, I'm rightfully so,
55:30
I mean I get it, but look, the guy is a human being,
55:32
and the amount of stress, sports stress that has been put on that
55:37
body over the years, it would not surprise me if we don't see him
55:42
possibly for three weeks or even a month, And what's that going to do
55:45
for this team? As Sean was talking about with regard to Nick Nurse,
55:47
you know, you know, if he wants to be in that conversation for
55:51
Coach of the Year, it's going to be a very imperative time for him
55:53
as they try to figure out where they're going to go based on various matchups
55:59
with some of the teams they have coming down the stretch. So it gonna
56:01
be interesting to watch for sure. And that's gonna do it for us this
56:05
week. Hope you enjoyed the show. If you are new to listening to
56:07
the Philadelphia Sports Table podcast show, subscribe on whatever podcast platform you're on.
56:12
If you're on Apple Podcasts, you can follow us there. Of course,
56:15
we'd appreciate rating and review there. And I guess I guess that's about it.
56:22
I mean, we do have our website, Philadelphia Sports Table dot com.
56:24
If anything happens to your feed, you can just head on over there,
56:27
as I mentioned before, And we're on some social sites out there.
56:30
Check it out. I'm not gonna go through them all anyway. Take care
56:34
of folks. Let's try to enjoy Philly sports this next week. Here with
56:38
what we have in the pipeline here, so you all take care and we'll
56:43
catch you next time.