The Sixers current situation, one that exceeded expectations in 2017-18, is a result of patience, luck, and taking advantage of opportunity. This off-season could define whether the Sixers are a perrenial power, or a team on the rise that can’t get over the top. There is likely no middle ground.
Philadelphia has two superstars in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. They also have the probability of two potential first-round draft picks, and tremendous payroll flexibility. Philadelphia has become a destination, and a place that stars will want to play. When a team that won 52 games, advanced to the second round of the playoffs, and has all this to look forward to, you think – nothing but upside, right? Well, not so fast. Philadelphia must hope first that history does not repeat itself. Let’s look back at 1986.
The Sixers were just two seasons removed from being NBA Champions. They had aging stars in Julius Erving and Moses Malone. They had a 23-year old potential superstar in Charles Barkley, AND they had the number one pick in the draft, and were coming off of a 54-win season. Surely things could only get better, right?
Uh, not so fast.
The Sixers decided to trade that top pick, which would have been Brad Daugherty, who turned into a multiple all-star center from North Carolina. Len Bias, who died tragically after the draft was also available. Philly, inexplicably, traded that number one pick to Cleveland for Roy Hinson. Hinson was a great example of a player who could put up stats on a bad team, but was only 25 at the time, and the Sixers thought he was a game changer.
They also thought Moses Malone was on his last legs, so they traded him to Washington for a younger Jeff Ruland and Cliff Robinson. Ruland was on his last legs. Ruland was a great player, but he had chronic knee troubles, and only ended up playing 5 games for the Sixers. Cliff Robinson was a black hole. He never met a shot he didn’t like, but wasn’t terribly efficient. The trades were a disaster and set the franchise back for many years to come.
So lets move to 2018. Bryan Colangelo, who traded two lottery picks for last year’s number one pick to get Markelle Fultz, has shown a willingness to be aggressive. Right now, with Fultz not being able to take an outside shot and piling up DNP’s in the playoffs, doesn’t look like a great decision. Jayson Tatum was fantastic against the Sixers and had an incredible rookie year. Colangelo is not concerned. However, it is clear that Fultz developing into the player Philadelphia thinks they drafted will be one of the most critical parts of this off-season.
The next critical part of this offseason journey is free agency. We all know who the biggest attraction is in the market, and so does the city of brotherly love. It’s the King.
Coach Brett Brown knows that the Sixers need to add a big-time free agent to win a championship. James, along with Paul George, are the two big names on the market. Brown wants one.
I’m going on record saying that I believe LeBron will come to Philadelphia. Unless he has a change of heart and decides to stay in Cleveland, where else would he go? I don’t think he wants to go to any Western Conference team, and have to deal with Houston and Golden State just to get to the finals. What other team would allow him to play with teammates he can lift up, and maybe be carried by him as he gets older? It makes too much sense not to happen.
From a draft perspective, the Sixers will have their own pick at 26. Depending on the ping pong ball gods, they should also have the Lakers pick, landing somewhere around 10. Do they package those two picks to get higher up in the draft? Do they trade one or both for a verteran? Wing athleticism was exposed in the playoffs. There are some good players that might meet those needs in the draft.
Then there are the players in the last year of their deals. J.J. Redick, who was signed for 1-year at $23 million dollars last year, is a player they’d love to have back. Not at that price. Would he entertain a mid-level exception? Joel Embiid’s contract kicks in next year at just over $25 million. If the Sixers want to sign a top free agent, Redick will have to accept a financial haircut to stick around.
Philadelphia has another year left of Jerryd Bayless at $8.5 million, but they’d have to give up something to get a team to take him off their hands. It’s possible. I’d probably count on saying goodbye to Amir Johnson. The mid-season pick-ups, Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli, are without contracts too, but they’d also have to take major pay cuts to stick around. T.J. McConnell has a team option at $1.6 million, that Colangelo said he plans to exercise. Richaun Holmes has the same team option, and I doubt if that gets picked up. However, if Colangelo can’t get a top free agent to sign, some of these players may get deals to play another year so the Sixers can try for a big free agency haul again next year.
The dominos are in place for a dynamic offseason, and one that should set the course for this team for the foreseeable future as a contender. The pressure is squarely on Colangelo to make the right decisions here. He has a chance to make this a historic run, or a complete failure. Right now, Sam Hinkie still gets much of the credit for where the Sixers are. Make no mistake, this is Colangelo’s chance to make history one way or the other now. This is Colangelo’s team, and this summer will determine his legacy as a general manager.
