By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly Staff 
A day removed from the Philadelphia 76ers' roster addressing the media following the end of their 28-54 regular season, President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo addressed the media on Friday for an end-of-season address.
Here are some major points from Colangelo's presser that are of particular interest.
Injuries:
In what was sure to be an interesting press conference, especially after a season filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, Colangelo finally talked about the season in terms of progress and injuries, something that wasn't expressed as much during the season.
Colangelo noted that injuries were definitely an issue for the team this season and that recovery of players is a must going into the offseason.
Considering the Sixers were plagued with injuries, especially late in the season, that left four potential starters out at the very end. Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Robert Covington, and Jahlil Okafor went down at one point or another with season-ending injuries, while Dario Šarić played the last month or so with a heel injury.
Preventing injuries in the short term to have key players start when the season matters most should be a given, however, preventing injuries in the long-term should be an absolute must for the franchise, especially if they want to make any kind of playoff run.
Progress from the role players:
The Sixers were fortunate to get solid seasons from a lot of their typical role players, especially in the absence of their key players. Colangelo noted some of those players, as Brian Seltzer from Sixers.com noted.
Colangelo goes on to cite encouraging seasons from Stauskas, Luwawu-Cabarrot in terms of state of wing rotation as well.
— Brian Seltzer (@brianseltzer) April 14, 2017
The emergence of Luwawu-Cabarrot for the Sixers this season as well as the maturity of Stauskas proved the team does have some kind of life from downtown. It's also worth mentioning that Richaun Holmes impressed a lot of the Sixers staff both "internally and externally," according to Colangelo, and that the team has "a lot of confidence in him." Holmes played a lot of time in the center position for the Sixers in the absences of both Okafor and Embiid.
Future at Point Guard:
There's no doubt the point guard position is a key area for the Sixers to grow and to mature going into next season. While T.J. McConnell satisfied the need for the time being with his rapid increase in toughness, the Sixers still need that long-term answer at the one.
While Colangelo didn't go out and say blatantly that Ben Simmons would be the sure-fire guy to play the point next season, he also didn't rule it out either.
Colangelo did talk about McConnell and how he's established himself in the league after two seasons of growth.
Colangelo think Simmons at PG will play itself out. Thinks McConnell has established himself as an NBA PG. Represents everything team about.
— Brian Seltzer (@brianseltzer) April 14, 2017
The thing about all of this point guard talk is that Jerryd Bayless continues to be an option for the Sixers going forth, but Colangelo is definitely not opposed to bringing in some type of combo guard to aid his players both defensively and offensively.
According to Brian Seltzer's tweet, "Colangelo sees shooters as important. You can never have enough shooters." Colangelo is referencing the need to add shooters to the lineup especially if Ben Simmons is indeed the guy dishing the ball out as the point guard.
Looking at Simmons' potential at point guard, Colangelo offered a pretty big comparison to show what he sees.
Colangelo on Simmons' potential at PG: "Not dissimilar to what Magic [Johnson] brought to PG spot."
— Brian Seltzer (@brianseltzer) April 14, 2017
Colangelo did go on to say that he didn't want to draw a direct comparison to Magic, but just that he used him as an example to better explain Simmons' situation.
He talked about Simmons' guarding ability and potential, talking about his wingspan and stance which will assist with guarding some of the best point guards in the NBA.
Other Colangelo notes:
- Colangelo: "We're far from being a complete team, May 16 will be a date that really clarifies a lot," talking about the draft.
- Colangelo said that he isn't satisfied with just 28 wins, but he said the fans deserve a "tremendous" credit, and he thanked them for their support of the Sixers.
- Colangelo thinks that Šarić has clearly shown that he will be a staple for team at the power forward position. He also talked that while Šarić has proven himself at the position, the team does still need to get more depth at the 4 to help Dario out.
- Colangelo called Joel Embiid a "game-changer, an all-star talent, a foundational piece to build with and around, no doubt," after just seeing him play in 31 games this season.
- Colangelo praised Brett Brown for the last four years: "It's really exciting to see a coach who gets it, cares as much as he does."
- Colangelo called Robert Covington "a valued piece of this organization, really turned into a player we want" in the long-term.
