Three NBA teams have still not recorded a win this season. But while their records are similar, each team has reached this point for a variety of different reasons, and each team has different options for their future.
Ed’s Note: This article was written prior to New Orleans’ 120-105 win Tuesday night, their first of the season.
The Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, and New Orleans Pelicans are the only teams who still have a zero in the win column this year. But all three teams are constructed very differently, and all three teams have taken completely different routes to achieving their winless record, and all three teams have different considerations to take into effect when making moves for their future.
Philadelphia 76ers
Trust the process. Trust the process. Trust the process. The phrase that has become synonymous with Philadelphia’s method of stripping their team of any and all talent. The 76ers are the only team of the three that is perfectly content with where they are in the standings. Many pieces have been wrote on Philadelphia’s plan and its viability, but the fact of the matter is they are going to have a lot of high-end talent in a couple years, and all at a very cheap rate.
While their record is dismal, the Sixers have to be pleased with what they are seeing from their starting frontcourt duo, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. Okafor, a monster on the offensive end, and Noel, equally as dominant on the defensive end, have done a good job so far of balancing out each other’s negatives. It also looks like Philadelphia may have found a diamond in the rough in undrafted point guard T.J. McConnell. With no solid options at point guard on the roster and not doing anything to address it in the offseason, McConnell has taken charge and shown he has the qualities of a legitimate NBA point guard.
Philadelphia is not good at all this year, but that is just fine with them.
Brooklyn Nets
In 2013, the Nets mortgaged their future for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry. Three years and only one playoff series win later, all three of those players are on different teams, and Brooklyn owes their 2016, and 2018 first-round picks (and sent last year’s pick already), and Boston has the right to swap 2017 picks as well. Their original thought process was that they would be a title-contending team for the next few years and their draft picks would be relatively useless. But now they are winless and show no signs of being any more than a bottom-feeder this year, which means Boston could be in store for a high lottery pick.
Without their pick, Brooklyn has all the incentive in the world to be as competitive as possible, but they simply don’t have the team to do it. Brook Lopez has been dominant offensively, but the Nets have been absolutely dreadful on defense, as they are second to last in net point differential in the league.
Brooklyn will need to make moves to move up in the standings, but with how much money is invested in this team, making a pivotal deal doesn’t look likely, leaving the Nets in NBA purgatory.
New Orleans Pelicans
Not many pegged that the team employing the next NBA great, Anthony Davis, would still be winless six games into the season, but that is exactly what has happened to Davis and the Pelicans.
The biggest reason for New Orleans’ struggles has been injuries. The Pelicans have been decimated by injuries this year, losing, for at least some time this season, Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon, Jrue Holiday, Quincy Pondexter, Omer Asik, Norris Cole, Alexis Ajinca, and Kendrick Perkins. Under new head coach Alvin Gentry, the Pelicans clearly have needed some time to gel, and that has certainly not been easy with almost the entire team on the mend.
But a down season could prove to be useful for New Orleans, as there are legitimate concerns about how far this current team can go, even as Davis continues to improve. The season is still young, and a fully healthy Pelicans team could still do damage, but perhaps adding another high-level prospect could be a difference maker for this team long term.
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