Retaining first round draft pick should be top priority for 76ers

Heading into the 2024-25 NBA season, the Philadelphia 76ers had one goal: Win the NBA championship. 

With the Sixers sitting 17 games below .500 through 57 contests, it's safe to say that original goal is out the window. Now with a month and a half remaining before the current campaign mercifully comes to an end, the Sixers should have a new goal: Retaining their first round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Doing so should be the team's top priority moving forward.

Philadelphia's pick in the '25 draft is top-six protected, meaning that if it falls within the first six picks, the Sixers keep it. But, if it falls outside of the top six, it transfers to Oklahoma City, stemming from the Al Horford trade back in 2020. Yes, Al Horford is still haunting the Sixers despite not playing for the team in years after just a single, ill-fated season. 

The '24-25 season has been an absolute disaster -- and an abject failure -- for Philly in virtually every way. I'm not going to rehash all of the factors that have made the season a complete dumpster fire here. Instead, I'm going to assume that if you're reading this, you're probably well-versed in the Sixers' struggles. 

The only way to extract some real value from this season would be keeping that draft pick and using it to add another young, top-tier talent over the summer. Having the season go as poorly as it has and losing the pick would be a nightmare, worst-case scenario for the franchise.

There are a plethora of promising prospects in the upcoming draft pool, and getting an opportunity to land one would help the alleviate the pain endured by Sixers fans this season. But, missing out on a top pick would be like salt in the wound, because it would mean that all of the losing and gross basketball was for naught.

So, how do the Sixers maximize their chances of keeping their pick? Basically, they just need to continue to do what they've been doing well for weeks: Lose, or "tank." They need to sink as far down in the standings as possible. They're currently on an eight-game losing streak, so they're already moving in the right direction, and they need to keep that train rolling. 

League sources indicate that we've probably already seen the last of Joel Embiid for the season, and shutting down Paul George should be the next move. Reducing Tyrese Maxey's workload wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

The Sixers could use the opportunity to see what they have in some of the younger guys like Justin Edwards, Adem Bona, Jared Butler and Lonnie Walker in order to gauge if any of them could be legitimate contributors moving forward beyond this season. Playing those guys more minutes should go hand-in-hand with continuing to lose games. 

"Tanking" is a taboo topic in the NBA, especially when it comes to the Sixers. But prioritizing the long-term outlook of the team is more important than appeasing public perception, and there's really no legitimate argument that could be made against the Sixers punting on the rest of the season.

There's no way you could watch the Sixers toil away all season and think that they have a legitimate chance in a postseason series against anybody, if they could somehow get there. Even the players on the roster know that this isn't a playoff-caliber team. 

"We've shown no sign of a team that will compete," Paul George told reporters after Philadelphia's recent 142-110 loss to the Chicago Bulls. "We just don't have the habits of a champion or a playoff-contending team would have. So, to be honest, right now it's a little far-fetched. All we can do is work hard and try to just keep going for one another, but we've shown no signs of -- forget championship, but a playoff-contending team here." 

George summed it up pretty perfectly there. No notes. Shut it down, let the young guys play, and do everything possible to hold onto that draft pick.

Follow Michael Kaskey-Blomain on X @therealmikekb.