Wrote about Morey and McCain and cheap billionaire owners and burning goodwill. Also: scores and highlights and LINKS. This is the free weekly newsletter www.teamziller.com/jared-mccain...

Destiny?

This has easily been the biggest surprise of VJ’s rookie year: PULL-UP eFG since 12.1.25 (600+ mins) • Kon 59% • Maxey 58% • KD 57% • VJ 55% • Murray 55% I trusted his set shot, but expected his off-the-dribble shooting to need work. He’s already cleaned that up just 30 games into his career.

Danseuse espagnole, by Joan Miró, 1945, 📸 by Max Molina

This draft has one weak spot- picks 3-5. Picks 6-9 are pretty good, and have a good shot of outperforming pick 3 or 4.

@derekbodner.bsky.social looking back at your draft Express eval of Tatum, is it fair to say you felt he was over reliant on ISO mid-range but good at it? How does that compare to Ace who ha a similar physical profile? Is Ace less developed to where he relies on shooting without creating space?

VJ athletic comps VJ 6'3.5" 193.2 lbs 6'7.5" Wingspan 8'5.5" standing reach 38.5" max vert Grimes 6’4” 209.8 lbs 6’8.0” wingspan 8’5.0” standing reach 38.5" max vert other comps:

Ace comps Similar size but not great vert (although Kawhi was worse but more fluid athlete)

Nearly identical to Rudy Gay, who is sort of his ceiling as a prospect x.com/DraftExpress...

Not hugely unexpected, but Kon might fall a bit. x.com/DraftExpress...

Daryl Morey: How come Rico gets the top pick and escape the jail of his own creation.

I'm so old I remember when the New Orleans coincidentally got the #1 pick right after trading Anthony Davis to the Lakers

Interesting/concerning that it's been over a month since Embiid's last game and still no word on "surgery." If there is some procedure that will help you'd think they would want to do it as soon as possible given long recovery times.

What a horrible night for the tank. Nets and Raps lost close games to terrible teams and the Sixers are 7th instead of 5th seed. That drops their chance of keeping their pick by about 30%.

Spike (@spikeeskin.bsky.social) with lots of specific details on the Embiid knee situation on RTRS. Sounded sourced right from organization (Morey?) I've been a broken record about the issue he is dealing with, as Spike puts it, "you can call it arthritis." Sixers and Embiid not on same page.

#76ers are 0-7 since Daryl Morey said this 😬

This Sixers season feels like the bizzaro version of the Movie Major League (in reverse.) Willy Mays Hayes-Maxey Pedro/Jobu-Yabu Taylor(arthritic catcher)- Embiid Ricky "Wild Thing"- Oubre (NBA gave up on him) or RC4? Eddie(old pitcher)-PG Charlie(tanking GM)- Morey(or Hinkie guest appearance?)

This is the first Sixers game I'm actively hoping for a big, message sending loss. Really want to stamp out any sense this team has a run in them.

Sixers need the NBA to bring back the Amnesty clause for bad contracts that crush a team's future. www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

! Giannis Antetokounmpo PF MIL - Out - Sunday vs PHI (left calf tightness)

Morey must have signed PG, Lowry and Gordon after watching Benjamin Button

Morey-ball

Eagles are such a great organization. A lot of outside fans miss out on this because they have a knee-jerk negative reaction to "Philly sports"

Yeah, that KJ trade was my Joker moment with them. I don't think most Sixers fans quite appreciate how much of a squandering of assets that was. But I lit into them for it here: www.libertyballers.com/2025/2/5/243...

Dallas just made the Babe Ruth to the Yankees trade... tempting the fates to curse them for generations

Great players Terrible coaches (on offense)

The Process... worked? Avoid prolonged mediocrity at all costs.

Season's Greetings from a Sixers fan

Lost an old friend to carbon monoxide poisoning. Please make sure you have detectors. Basement, kitchen, bedroom area, laundry. Especially if you have a cheap/crappy landlord who doesn't keep appliances maintained. Detectors aren't expensive. Don't wait for a landlord to install one.

When they talk about privatizing Veterans’ care and Medicare, they mean allowing companies to provide healthcare for a profit. But how do companies make those profits? By *denying* care to many who need it. Don’t get fooled by the “privatization” label. It means “for profit” and YOU are the cost.

It's your daily installment of Sixers Free Throws woes

Its your daily installment of Sixers Lose a Challenge... challenge

Evergreen

It's never good when a Sixers news story includes the two words: multiple doctors

Scientists Say Eagles Reaching Unprecedented Levels of 'So Back' “We've never seen a team so back. This is uncharted territory. We are excited, but frankly, we're also frightened.” - The Scientists onpattison.com/news/2024/no...

Sixers somehow were +14 in the 17 minutes Oubre was on the bench... and lislostt the game by 26pts. -40🤢Oubre The other wing who can't shoot (Caleb) was -25 Having wings who can't shoot kills your offense- and the Sixers have the worst offense in the league.

90% of RCIV shot attempts are from beyond 26ft

Modern NBA... Season 3pt% (and percent of total shots are from 3pts) Gordon 24% (on 56% of shot attempts) C Martin 31% (37% of shot attempts) Oubre 28% (37% of shot attempts) PG 28% (51% of attempts) Maxey 28% (46%) RCIV 17% (41%) Dowtin: 12% (41%) Yabu: 42% (55%) Reggie 41% (67%) Lowry: 35% (76%)

The new Dame and CJ

Glad Embiid has scored some points... But I would be a lot more enthused if Embiid and PG looked less like white walkers- reanimated former corpses of their past selves.

Non-McCain minutes: Sixers -25 in the 17:39 McCain Minutes +13 Somehow McCain started next to Embiid and Embiid was still -9

The Sixers are brushing off their slow start to the season, but… they do know they *eventually* have to start winning games to make the playoffs, right? (At least Jared McCain is That Dude.)

Give the Sixers front office multiple top 3 picks and they’ll display an ineptitude previously unknown to man but give them a pick at 15+ and they’ll find franchise altering talent like it grows on trees.

It's go time

SLOP HAS COME TO BLUESKY