I’m Not Spending the Next Decade Losing to the Celtics, So Where Do We Go From Here?

One aspect of the the Sixers season ending in devastating fashion on Wednesday that I overlooked is the amount of free time it has opened up. From October until here in May, you got out of work or class and you flipped on NBC Sports Philadelphia for a 7pm Sixers tip. I got off work tonight and there was a Sixer size hole in my heart.

Now that the offseason is unfortunately underway, I have nothing better to do than watch Mikal Bridges YouTube highlights and Markelle Fultz’ summer league games while hoping for better days. While that is sadly a somewhat serious activity many of us will partake in, the bitter end of a great ride does beg the question, how do we get better? The season provided us with a fantastic foundation and now we spend the coming months determining how to finish sculpting the masterpiece.

Right now, the Philadelphia 76ers sit where their sports complex neighbors, the Eagles, sat two years ago at 7-9 in Carson Wentz’ rookie year. The raw talent was extremely evident but the ability to win games was severely lacking. Sounds pretty familiar right? That season wasn’t as frustrating as a typical 7-9 finish usually is because we knew our strengths and knew our holes. Wentz was our franchise quarterback and we needed weapons to surround him with while also bolstering our secondary. That offseason, we signed Alshon Jeffery, Torrey Smith, Legarrette Blount and undrafted free agent Corey Clement. Before the season, we traded for Ronald Darby and during the season, we traded for Jay Ajayi. We filled the holes. So, who is going to be Alshon Jeffery and Ronald Darby for the Sixers?

Let’s just start with the obvious and get this out of the way: Lebron would solve any and all problems this team would have. In his 15th year, he is somehow still ascending and is in the midst of the most impressive and surreal playoff tear I have been alive for. If Robert Covington gives you something, ANYTHING in that series, the Sixers probably win. Imagine replacing that with Lebron. You have to think the Sixers are the ones that win in five then, right?

The other “obvious but not as obvious as Lebron” name is Paul George. The biggest glaring weakness for this team is wing play on the perimeter. We had no guy who could create their own shot out there and while JJ Redick and Marco Bellinelli were obviously threats from behind the arc, they were also enormous defensive liabilities. Covington has been thrown under the bus enough so I will not even embark down that path but let’s just leave it as George would be a phenomenal upgrade. Many believe that the skill set George possesses, a glorified “three and D” guy with shot creating ability, would fit the Sixers current arsenal better than Lebron James would. While I think it is ludicrous to suggest Lebron couldn’t mesh here, I get the point. Carson needed a big target to get the ball to; he got Alshon. Ben Simmons needs a guy on the wing who will hit shots and unclog the paint; he needs Paul George. But, I swear to God if people in Philadelphia start using the “Playoff P” nickname, I will root for us to lose.

So there we go, so far we’ve come up with the genius plan of going after the two most coveted free agents out there that every other team in the league will also pursue. You could trade for Kawhi if his relationship is truly severed with the Spurs, but what trade could you make that works? They would almost certainly want Dario and given the ending outcome of the season, there cannot be much trade value in Robert Covington and Markelle Fultz. Every 97.5 caller from now until July 1st will be talking about Lebron, but there needs to a legitimate plan B.

Here is a link to the list of free agents (a lot of “free agents” with player options) and let me know what you think:

https://hoopshype.com/2018/04/22/nba-free-agency-2018-the-top-players-2/

If you see what I see, there seems to be slim pickings beyond the star studded top of the list. The first name that wasn’t already mentioned, has a player option and will likely return to their team, or is not named Demarcus Cousins is Clint Capela. I love Capela, the way he runs the floor is incredible and he may be the best in the league at altering shots. He deserves max money somewhere but with Joel Embiid, I am not sure that somewhere is here in Philadelphia.

So as we transition down the list, what is actually appealing? Aaron Gordon would be a flashy signing, but what is he giving you that Dario doesn’t? Tyreke Evans (unrestricted) and Zach Lavine (restricted) are appealing wing options, especially the latter. While they do not necessarily put you over the top, those additions would certainly give you needed depth. It’s ironic that in such a star driven league like the NBA, it is the depth of a team that truly determines your success (The Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs teams that beat the Heat send their best). If you can get Evans on a short-term, team friendly deal or take a gamble on Lavine long term, great. On top of that, if you bring back Redick on another one year deal at a MUCH lower cap number, I am also fine. It isn’t the get rich quick scheme that Lebron is, but at least you would have options.

Some other names to kick the tires on are Will Barton, Trevor Ariza, Jeff Green and Avery Bradley. They are all unrestricted free agents so you do not have to worry about their current teams matching the offer and you can hopefully land them on short term deals that give the Sixers flexibility. My #1 goal for the free agency period is signing a star but a close second would be not becoming the Portland Trail Blazers. Do not make any deal that sets a young core back. There are a lot of formidable role players out there, let’s see which piece fits the puzzle together.

Our current Sixers roster matches that of the 2007 Phillies and 2016 Eagles. The talent is there and we have sniffed success for the first time. We knew what happened next season for both of those teams. We have our core, we know what we need. Now, we sit back and see what we can add to get us a parade next June.