The Sixers Offseason Plan

With the NBA offseason set to begin here on the last day of the month of Kyle Schwarber (patent pending), Daryl Morey and the Sixers don’t have many big splashes to make in free agency as it currently stands. After James Harden so graciously opted out of his $47 million player option for this season, he is expected to re-sign on a shorter term contract at around $35-$40 million per year.

 

In turn, this allows the Sixers more salary cap flexibility to fill the two open slots on the roster. At this point, it is a foregone conclusion that one of those slots will be filled by Harden’s former Rockets teammate P.J. Tucker, who is apparently the second-coming of Christ with the way the Sixers have valued him this offseason. He’s expected to sign a 3-year contract worth $27-30 million in total. Here is what the Sixers roster is expected to look like.

 

 

Looking at this roster, I feel like Pam Beasley from the Office who is asked to show the difference between two pictures. One picture is the 2021-22 Sixers, the other picture is that roster projection for the 2022-23 Sixers. They’re the same picture.

 

To me, the addition of P.J. Tucker and one other player at the bi-annual exception of $4.1 million in salary changes little from last year’s team. This is still an above-average regular season team who reeks of second-round exit.

 

Luckily enough, I think Morey knows that. Morey is one of those front office people that loves making trades more than he loves his extended family. It’s tough to know for sure what trades he would make, but more-often-than-not he tends to win any trade he makes. Let’s try and get inside the mind of Morey.

 

Who The Sixers Should Target With Their BAE

 

Again, this is all assuming that James Harden and P.J. Tucker do sign with the Sixers on the contracts they’re expected to, according to multiple credible sources. This leaves a bi-annual exception for the Sixers as one of the only avenues to sign one more free agent to fill out the roster. This somewhat surprisingly leaves the Sixers with some intriguing options.

 

Otto Porter Jr.

Porter is coming off of a productive season as a predominant bench player for the NBA champs. He averaged eight points and close to six boards per game off the bench, which is pretty impressive for a wing player. He also shot 37% from three, which obviously makes him more attractive than a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model for the Sixers.

 

This squad is desperate for solid wings to come off the bench, and Porter would be a perfect fit for this reserve unit. He’s a solid defender who shows tenacious rebounding skills with the ability to confidently shoot threes. If I were in Daryl Morey’s shoes, Porter is my top option with the BAE.

 

The question becomes, though, would he sign for the BAE? Porter is expected to be a highly-coveted low-tier free agent for contending teams, which could lead to some teams offering him either more of a role or more money than the Sixers can offer.

 

Gary Harris

Harris is coming off of an extremely productive year for one of the most disgraceful franchises in basketball, the Orlando Magic. Harris would slide right into a backup point guard role on this squad, as he’s a far better ball handler than Shake Milton. With De’Anthony Melton already manning the backup shooting guard role, Harris would be a nice complement.

 

He averaged 11.8 points per game a season ago while shooting 38% from three. Harris is also a solid defender, which would make him a lethal pairing with Melton on both ends of the floor on the reserve unit. I’m still of the belief that the Sixers would be better-suited targeting a reserve wing, but I wouldn’t be mad if Morey brought in Harris.

 

Danuel House Jr.

This guy feels like a Sixer purely based on the fact that I can already see everyone and their mother misspelling his name on Twitter. Yes, his name is Danuel, not Daniel. As a man with a very long, confusing Polish last name, I sympathize with anyone who constantly has their name misspelled or mispronounced.

 

Anywho, House would be a good fit for the Sixers as he is a solid wing defender off the bench. While he hits threes at a lower clip than Porter and Harris did a season ago, he’s a 37.6% career shooter from three which will work just fine for me. He doesn’t score a whole lot, but if he’s good for two threes a game to go along with solid defense, sign me up. Don’t forget he has history with Morey and Harden too.

 

 

Who’s On The Trading Block?

 

As I mentioned at the beginning, Morey loves to trade. It’s not a full-blown guarantee that a trade will happen, given that Morey has said in the past he doesn’t trade if he thinks it doesn’t make the team better. Simultaneously, Morey is one of the most aggressive front office members in the sport when he believes a deal can be made.

 

Tobias Harris

 

 

Well then. While Windhorst didn’t mention any specific teams or general trade ideas, him saying that there’s a lot of chatter going on around Harris is certainly eye-opening. While Harris is a productive player who played well down the stretch and in the postseason, his contract is an utter abomination and feels like yet another one of Elton Brand’s messes that Morey is left to clean up.

 

This will be interesting to watch unfold, because truthfully I’m not totally sure what Harris’ market is. I don’t know what team would be willing enough to take on this albatros of a contract while giving up valuable pieces. Like I said, Morey doesn’t make trades unless he believes it makes his team better. He won’t trade Harris for the sake of trading him.

 

When it comes to teams being dumb enough to take Harris’ contract, the Sacramento Kings have of course weaseled their way into this conversation. Known for being one of the most poorly run franchises in the history of sports, the Kings were involved in trade discussions about Harris and an Aussie-who-shall-not-be-named before the trade deadline in February, before ultimately pivoting to other stupid moves.

 

Reports suggest now that they remain interested in Harris. As Daryl Morey, what do the Kings have that would be of interest to me? Is a package surrounding Harrison Barnes really that attractive? I understand he comes at a much lower rate and is a free agent after the 2023 season, which clears up a max slot for the Sixers next offseason.

 

That being said, I’m not sure how that makes the Sixers better this season. Harris has caught a lot of flack in this town, some of it warranted, some of it not so much. At the end of the day, he’s a much better player than Harrison Barnes, at least in my opinion. I don’t know how making that trade, or a trade similar to that, makes the Sixers better right now. They cannot afford to waste another year of Joel Embiid’s prime

 

Matisse Thybulle

 

Thybulle is another interesting trade piece, because now that the draft is over I’m not sure what his trade market is. While teams are interested in the back-to-back all-defensive team member, and the Sixers are willing to trade him, what would be the return?

 

Teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, and Chicago Bulls all have varying levels of interest in Thybulle. I’m just not sure what any of those teams would be willing to part with any talent I would deem as attractive to the Sixers.

 

In the Mavs case, would a player like Reggie Bullock be attractive enough for the Sixers in a trade for Thybulle? Personally, I would say yes. Bullock is a much better shooter than Thybulle and would fit wonderfully in an offense desperate for 3-point shooting.

 

In the Blazers case, they could offer former Villanova legend Josh Hart. Despite bouncing around a few teams the last couple of seasons, Hart is a productive player. That being said, he’s not quite good enough at shooting from beyond the arc for the Sixers to warrant paying him the $12 million he’s owed this year. Outside of him, there isn’t much else on the Blazers roster I’d deem as attractive to the Sixers.

 

Finally, for Chicago, would they be willing to trade former lottery pick Coby White? While some Bulls fans may say absolutely not, that team is desperate for wing defense, something that Thybulle excels at. White, who averaged 12 points per game and shot over 38% from three, would be a perfect fit as a backup point guard for the Sixers. It would make sense for the Bulls to move on from him too, given they have Lonzo Ball and Ayo Dosunmu.

 

Expect The Sixers To Be Active

 

Free agency kicks off at 6pm on Thursday evening, and after that it will be an absolute whirlwind of moves. Despite having little to no cap space, there will be enough rumors around the Sixers to keep us interested throughout the offseason. With a guy like Daryl Morey running the show, it’s safe to say that a flurry of moves should be expected. Hopefully the NBA offseason provides enough of a distraction so we can refrain from watching the team that plays in Citizens Bank Park.

By Matt Szczypiorski | June 30, 2022
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