After another second round exit, and watching Golden State hoist the Larry O'brien trophy, how do the Philadelphia 76ers look after the draft and first week and a half of free agency?
Let's start with the draft. To the surprise of nobody, Daryl Morey traded the pick in the draft for 24 year old Memphis Grizzlies Guard, De'Anthony Melton. Packaged in that deal was the injured Danny Green. Last season, Melton gave the Grizz 73 games at about 11 points per game to go with 4.5 rebounds, and just under 3 assists. He's likely going to be a rotational piece for head coach Doc Rivers with the occasional start in case of injury or rest days. At 6'2'', he seems to be a Tyrese Maxey-lite (never thought I'd find myself saying that - but that's how far Maxey has come) but, is going into his fourth year in the NBA and on his third team. He's able to stick around for a reason.
After the draft, the team signed three UDFAs (undrafted free agents):
6'6'' forward, Julian Champagnie. Signed to a two-way deal allowing him to play with the team and the Delaware Blue Coats during the season.
Power forward, Michael Foster Jr. Signed from the G League Ignite.
G/F Aminu Mohammed. From Georgetown and will be on an Exhibit 10 contract. Likely will end up in the G League due to that contract unless it is converted to a two-way deal before the season.
Out of those four players, Melton is a lock to get playing time. As for the other three, I'm not so sure. Doc has been known to not play his younger guys too much (Paul Reed? Isaiah Joe?) and the championship window is now with Joel Embiid in his prime and James Harden on board for another season or two.
In free agency, the team added Danuel House Jr., Trevelin Queen and P.J. Tucker. The common thread here is that, one, all of these guys are 6'6'' or shorter. And, two, all three of the players at one point were in Houston. House and Tucker were there while Harden was there. It makes me believe that Mike D'Antoni, the coach of the Rockets for a good while when Harden was there, was seriously in play if Doc were to have been fired. The team lost DeAndre Jordan to the Nuggets. This was after the trade of Andre Drummond (and Seth Curry and that guy that used to wear #25) to the Nets. Drummond has since signed with the Bulls.
From this group, Tucker will play. He's 37, but gives toughness, championship pedigree (Milwaukee) and leadership to the team from Miami as well as a familiarity with Harden in their Houston days. He's here on a deal that will take him to 40 years old worth 33.2 million - all guaranteed. House, I expect to play since he is signed for two years and 8.5 million. Queen only played 10 games for Houston last season and is currently with the Sixers summer league team. At 25 years old, I'm not sure he makes the regular season roster yet despite showing good signs. Could be in the G League.
As for the actual guys already on the roster? We know who the usual guys are. Embiid is a two-time MVP runner up in his prime that's on a hall-of-fame path. Just has to stay healthy. Harden is a hall-of-famer that will be 33 when next season starts and is hopefully fully healthy. Despite being rumored in a lot of trade talk, Tobias Harris is still here (for now) and has played the best basketball of his career under Doc. He'll be 30 at the start of next season. (Note: I actually LIKE Tobias Harris for the Sixers. It's not really his fault management fumbled the bag with Jimmy Butler) Maxey is a rising star in the NBA and may have even passed Tobias as a third option in just two years in the league. Shake Milton had his option picked up, it was a very modest two million, and will be here this upcoming season. As long as he is healthy, he can provide a spark off the bench. Georges Niang is entering the second year of his two-year deal. Will he be able to provide reliable shooting off the bench? Another person floated around in trade rumors, Matisse Thybulle is set to begin his fourth year in the league. Will it still be with the Sixers. His defensive abilities are All-NBA, but it's no secret that he can be an offensive liability and teams will dare him to shoot. He does well as a cutter to the rim and, even at 6'5'', can finish strong, though. Furkan Korkmaz is already going in to year 6(!) but will only be 25 years old by the start of the season. He lost playing time during the season and has even been rumored in trade talks. With the team being linked to Eric Gordon (another Houston Rocket), Philly native Markieff Morris and former Sixer T.J. McConnell, will Furk still be here by the start of the season?
This doesn't include guys like Paul Reed, Charles Bassey, Isaiah Joe, Jaden Springer, Charlie Brown Jr. and Myles Powell. Many of whom are with the summer league team. Reed and Joe will probably be on the roster come time for the regular season but, I can't say the same for the others.
The issue is that backup center has been an issue since Embiid's arrival and some of the best options that the team has had are no longer here. Dwight Howard was for a year. Drummond was for a year until traded part of the way through. Same for DeAndre Jordan. None of these guys are currently better than Embiid but they did serve as viable backup options. Drummond (still not 30 years old until NEXT year) could actually START for a few teams even though Chicago has Nikola Vucevic, Tristan Thompson (currently a free agent) and another former Sixer, and Embiid backup, Tony Bradley (remember him?). With all of those guys gone, nobody on the roster is currently above 6'9'' except Embiid. Who will back Embiid up? Also, will there be a three guard starting lineup? Many of the pickups so far have been guards or players under 6'8''. Assuming no other moves are made, the lineup could be Embiid, Harris, Thybulle(?), Maxey and Harden. That's not very big and would be tough when on the defensive end. Embiid and Thybulle aside, Maxey does give it great effort but isn't all the way there yet. Harris has been better but is not known for elite defense. We all know what Harden brings on the defensive end.
Offensively, there are guys that can get theirs. Embiid can. Harden can if he's healthy. Tobias can. Maxey has shown that he can. Shake can at times. Other guys that aren't named can at least shoot it when called upon. I'm not too worried about that. Just the lack of size that bothers me.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Sixers aren't complete yet. Maybe there are a couple of deals to be had that can improve certain areas. Maybe trades will be made. But, there's no way that this is it for this team. This team is still good but, the players added, to me, don't move the needle enough unless one of the young guys emerge in a similar fashion to the way Maxey did. They'd have to get playing time first, though. The eastern conference was rugged last season and certain teams - Miami, Boston, Milwaukee - will be looking to make another run while other teams - Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Charlotte, Brooklyn(???) - will at least be heard from. Who completes the puzzle and completes the look for the Sixers? Guess we will find out soon enough.
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