The Sixers are slowly moving up the Future Power Rankings, landing at No. 17 overall. Philly ranks first in the money and draft categories, thanks to a very inexpensive roster and the potential for as many as six lottery picks in the next two years.
The talent on the roster is improving — Nerlens Noel (above) finished his rookie season strongly and Jahlil Okafor is a rookie of the year candidate.
Brett Brown has proved to be a good coach who gets players to compete despite having no shot at the playoffs. More unproven is whether GM Sam Hinkie can use his unorthodox methods to take a team from the basement to the penthouse.
Check out the NBA rankings team by team:
http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/13692933/nba-2015-future-power-rankings
