2019 Sixers Offseason

xogfog 2019-05-24 07:22:25 UTC #1

With the NBA season winding down soon talk will turn to draft on June 20th (Sixers have picks 24, 33, 34, 44 and 54 heading into the draft). The Sixers will be players in free agency, the question is, will they bring back their own free agents (Butler, Harris and Redick) and if so, what combination of them if not all. It's going to be difficult for the Sixers to keep their starting five and bolster the bench unless they can shrewdly draft a lot of 4 year college players with their 2nd round picks that might be able to play for little money.

There are a couple good breakdowns of the Sixers cap situation.

For those that have an Athletic subscribion:

For a free read, another good breakdown at Liberty Ballers:

In addition to Butler and Harris, there are a good amount of prime free agents that would look to be on the market (unless one or more are signed by their current teams). Durant, Leonard, Thompson, Irving, Walker and Middleton lead the class.

jimbomill 2019-05-24 09:41:57 UTC #2

Nice article from The Athletic.
I personally did not like the Tobias Harris deal ( I liked Shamet, a lot) and have no problem NOT offering him a Max contract. We also have to be realistic about JJ; his O does not offset his D come playoff time. Is he worth $12+M?

zambonir 2019-05-24 13:56:01 UTC #3

I know people are saying don’t sign Harris just because of the sunk cost, but the ability to outbid other teams for him was a huge part of the trade price. He is a long-term asset, the issue is more fit than ability but you can say that about everyone besides Joel.

Austinfan 2019-05-25 05:12:05 UTC #4

JJ is worth it off the bench, imagine if Korver could move without the ball.
Z Smith should start and get the tough defensive assignments, saving JJ's legs for his shot.

phillychuck 2019-05-25 10:30:55 UTC #5

If you don't sign Harris the money needed to sign him goes away--you can't use it on another player. So, it's not my money, he's debatably good enough for that max contract, so you sign him, and you deal with the player movement restrictions of being flush against the apron by signing younger, cheaper bench players.

AF: The problem playing JJ off the bench is that he's best when Joel is paired with him. And he helps JoJo get space, too. They run a great two-man game together, and it would be hard to sync them up enough if one starts and the other comes off the bench.

zambonir 2019-05-25 10:41:40 UTC #6

Yup. Especially with the cap hold aspect.

Right now I think a bigger issue is whether either (let alone both) of these guys are entirely on board. Harris, especially, is young enough, and will have options where he's higher in the pecking order, that he can afford to turn down the extra year. Butler certainly won't be suffering either, but at his age he should probably take it. But they say LeBron is already recruiting him (and four or five teams are interested in Harris).

It still all comes back to Simmons IMO. He is both the guy who has to get paid next year and the guy who affects both Butler and Harris's role in the offense.

And we're not even bothering to talk about them having a shot at an outside FA, sadly.

bigegypt0417 2019-05-26 02:39:13 UTC #7

Unbelievable how poorly Giannis has played in this series.

Under 50% from the FT line and just not playing like a star.

zambonir 2019-05-26 08:21:55 UTC #8

Young(ish) stars are not consistent, imagine!

So what's the takeaway now, that there's no shame in losing to the NBA finalist by a crazy bounce or that we missed a huge opportunity to be in the finals.

I gotta think it's a short series but I'm still scarred by the Blazers sweep.

phillychuck 2019-05-26 10:57:58 UTC #9

Three good points by z here...

Giannis was bad in the series, in part because Toronto plays very good D (see the Sixers series).

Both of these are true--we played better v. the Raps than the Bucks did, and we did miss a lot of opportunities to win that series and be in the finals.

Blazers could have easily been up 3-1 after 4 games in their series with the Warriors. They lost in 4 in part b/c the Warriors are clutch, but in part they got unlucky and also got a few bad calls. Does that carry over to the Toronto Kawhis? Can Green guard Kawhi? Is Gasol playable v. the W's? Is FVF back? Can Toronto cut down on the scoring by the W's guards? Interesting match up; might be an interesting series.

nycphils 2019-05-26 12:30:00 UTC #10

If Embiid didn’t get sick in the series we would have won. Oh well. Run it back.

zambonir 2019-05-26 14:07:14 UTC #11

They say if Giannis learns how to shoot the Bucks would be really good.

VoteForKalas 2019-05-28 12:46:32 UTC #12

The bottom line for me is I do not see the current foursome of Embiid, Simmons, Harris and Butler with a limited bench and no cap space as being good enough to win a ring.

Embiid and the 76ers need to figure out how to condition/manage his body better and Brand needs to find a much better backup C.

Simmons needs to learn and be willing to take jump shots (and foul shots) and stay aggressive at all times. Other than Butler, we need better G depth too with TJ likely gone and JJ uncertain.

Harris and the 76ers need to find ways to expand his skill set to include improved rebounding & defense. Those are key elements to a winning team; we need much better rebounding throughout the roster and a focus on defense.

The turnover mgmt, rebounding, defense and shooting consistency areas all need attention in constructing the roster. Players need to be versatile, dedicated to their craft and team first in their approach. The organization and coaches need to reinforce this relentlessly with words and actions. Accountability needs to be #1 for everyone.

bigegypt0417 2019-05-28 13:32:45 UTC #13

This is simply not true...

There aren't many teams in the NBA with a more talented core of players and the sixers do have some space to make a few moves. Adding Zhaire Smith to the mix and keeping Scott while adding a legitimate big man and you are a championship caliber team.

The sixers lost to the Eastern Conference champions on the last shot of the game by one of the best NBA players n the game.

I wasn't excited by the end of the season but it's silly to forget how good they were having only played about 20 games together.

VoteForKalas 2019-05-28 19:25:48 UTC #14

Good is not good enough unfortunately; that is the issue for every team competing for the ring.

Unless you can beat Golden State or the next elite dynasty team (because there will always be one), you cannot win a ring. In essence, you have to become that next elite dynasty team as we've seen over the decades in the NBA all the way back to Dr. J's day.

Toronto is not likely able to beat Golden State. If Durant comes back, I think it is a lock. Leonard will get his, but the supporting cast is not good enough to win 4 games vs Golden State.

The goal is not to get to the Finals - the goal is to win the ring. You need to either build a team that can knock Golden State off heads-up, hope they suffer major injuries or hope their roster breaks up.

That is the reality - losing in the 2nd round especially when we had so many chances to win it is not consolation. You need to get Leonard or Durant to go with Embiid & Simmons instead of maxing out the likes of Butler & Harris IMO. It is a quality not quantity issue. Plus you need money to build a capable bench.

zambonir 2019-05-28 19:43:10 UTC #15

Any roster the Sixers decide on is not likely to take out Golden State, I agree with that. Unfortunately they also seemingly have no shot at Durant or Leonard. Heck, we're not even sure if they can keep Butler and Harris! But it's still probably their only path to having the best possible roster, as things currently stand.

I think the creative Plan C might be to sign Harris but not Butler, if you think you can do some other good things with the cap space. That gives you one more year to see about Simmons. Harris could be better with the bigger role and he's not likely to be a bust (because of age or attitude) in three years.

phillychuck 2019-05-29 02:46:47 UTC #16

Sixers, if they run it back, could very likely be the next elite dynasty team. They have a good core, what now seems to be good coaching, and smart management. I'd love to see what they scheme with a full pre-season.

bigegypt0417 2019-05-29 13:02:33 UTC #17

Adding a serviceable player with their 1st rond pick this draft would be nice as well. They need to find a legitimate big man to take some of embiids minutes.

Maybe someone like Deandre Jordan?

rkeden 2019-05-29 13:23:16 UTC #18

Be nice if they found that "serviceable player" who was healthy enough to play his rookie season. The curse of the Sixers 1st round picks has to end sometime. Doesn't it?

We may look back on the draft picks of last year with a smile someday. Both Z. Smith and Milton gave flashes of looking like they might mature into decent players and one of our better trades doesn't get made without the blossoming of Shamut. BTW- Milton is just about the same size as Ennis. He has size,energy, a pretty solid shot and hops. Can he learn the "D"? I hope so. We will be adding last year's two picks (The 16th and the 54th)to the summer team as well as this years newbies. It is going to be a crowded group of hopefuls.

bigegypt0417 2019-05-29 13:26:12 UTC #19

The knicks ae looking for a draft pick for Frank Ntilikina...is he worth a gamble for one of the seconds?

phillychuck 2019-05-29 13:39:00 UTC #20

Can't shoot = can't play with Simmons. Not worth it, In my humble opinion. If you can't find a way to play for the Knicks...