The Sixers Have a Clear Agenda This Off-season (And No, It’s Not Recreate The Rockets)
NBA Free Agency began Thursday at 6pm and by seemingly 6:01, the Sixers had spent their money. The NBA can continue with the charade that tampering doesn’t happen, but we all know the deal when Shams Charania unloads the clip right at 6pm.
And soon after, the Sixers had advanced their clear and obvious off-season goal: get deeper
Since it became readily apparent that Joel Embiid was a superstar, this team has done an inexplicable, almost statistically impossible bad job of surrounding him with quality talent. Guards who can’t shoot. Shooters who can’t defend. We’ve seen it all from TOS to peanut allergies.
This off-season was a a targeted approach to surviving 16 games, instead of 82. I feel like I don’t have to explain that math, right? You’ve all seen enough Eastern Conference Semi-Final collapses and plateaus by this team to get it?
From draft night through free agency, Daryl Morey has clearly emphasized targeting players who fit well around his two stars, Embiid and James Harden. While also making sure they would not be liabilities come playoff time.
Think of all the previous Sixers rosters and the offense/defense pick your poison situations they ended up in. Kevin Huerter ate Seth Curry alive in Game 7 versus the Hawks last season. They left Curry on an island to die like Tom Hanksnin Castaway because they had no other options.
Think back to the Heat series where the Heat rotated Victor Oladipo and Tyler Herro off their bench for Max Strus while the Sixers threw a Hail Mary pleading with the basketball gods that Furkan Korkmaz could survive a few minutes on the court.
It’s always like this. They have no bench, they have no support, and they are a non-competitive roster from players 5-10. It changed by end of day yesterday.
PJ TUCKER
PJ Tucker is PJ Tucker. We all recognize what he is at this point and the identity he brings. For a team who refused to box out, or go get a loose ball like they were stuck in quicksand, Tucker will be a refreshing change of pace.
My lasting memory of the Heat series will be Jimmy Butler chasing down his own miss, and unloading a three from the corner. Then backtracking down the court saying “wow” to himself, almost shocked at the lack of Sixers effort in an elimination game. That just doesn’t happen if PJ Tucker is on your team.
He shot 41% from three this past season and led the league in corner threes his final year spent with James Harden.
He is the most obvious puzzle piece in the directive the Sixers are trying to put together: get more athletic, defend better, and load up on shooters.
Tucker helps in every form. I, like most, wonder he will look like at age 40 at the end of his contract. But from a fit and productivity standpoint, it was a no brainer.
DANUEL HOUSE:
Here was my original take on the House signing:
But, beyond that truly unreal headline House fits the mold the Sixers are looking for as well.
He shoots. He’s solid defensively and he’s athletic.
Here’s a good piece on House from Kyle Neubeck’s breakdown on the signing:
“His stint to end the 2021-22 season in Utah was fairly comfortably the best run during that time, with House appearing in 25 games and all six Jazz playoff games last season. House’s three-point shooting took a dive in the playoffs, but up to that point he had been a sturdy, accurate shooter for the Jazz as they came down the stretch, on top of being a switchable, reliable defender on the other end of the floor. At many points down the stretch, House was a better and more reliable role player than Royce O’Neale, who the Jazz agreed to trade to Brooklyn on Thursday for a first-round pick.“
His best shooting season came with yup, you guessed it, the Rockets alongside James Harden where he shot almost 42% from three.
This is the point where we should address the Rockets thing. It doesn’t matter where these guys come from. It matters that they are capable shooters, who can surpass 40% from three, and defend.
That’s it. That’s the only thing that matters.
DE’ANTHONY MELTON
Melton is the forgotten man because he was acquired on draft night, not through free agency.
But let’s start here: the Sixers haven’t had a player capable of doing this since Igoudala
You can see the appeal of Melton just by the desperately needed boost of athleticism he is about to supply.
But more so, he’s an improved three point shooter at 37%, steadied the ship for Memphis while they played without Ja Morant this year, and he’s only 24.
What a great upside swing this is while also being able to provide productivity right away. For a team desperate for athletic guards, this is true diamond in the rough territory.
No splashes for Philly in free agency this year and I doubt they land Kevin Durant. But this is the most accurate take on what they’ve done this summer: