While all the talk during this offseason has been about the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers have quietly had a good offseason. They managed to sign PJ Tucker, who seemed to be a priority for them to go with Danuel House, and also swung a trade that landed De’Anthony Melton in Philadelphia.
They were able to do this thanks to James Harden’s willingness to take a massive discount to re-sign with the team, and Zach Lowe is a big fan of what they have been able to accomplish so far.
“I love what the Sixers have done in the offseason… Love PJ Tucker move, love the Danuel House move, love the De’Anthony Melton trade. These are the absolute perfect kind of guys to put around the most unstoppable Pick and Roll combination in the entire NBA of James Harden and Joel Embiid. And if those guys are healthy and if Harden is in shape and if he doesn’t shrink from the moment in elimination games like we’ve seen him do time and again, including the very last one we saw against Miami, this team on paper absolutely has a chance to win the east and win the championship, they’re that good, they’re that deep, they’re that versatile.”
“It’s the best team on paper of the Joel Embiid era right there with the Jimmy Butler team that almost beat the Raptors and had a chance to win the title… they’ve done all they can do with the resources they have to build a team around Harden and Embiid.”
Lowe is right on the money when he says this is the best team the Sixers have had since Jimmy Butler was around. The front office has done a good job surrounding their two stars with the kind of pieces that would fit and it’s now up to the players as well as the coaching staff to get the job done.
The Sixers have always had talent these past few years but for one reason or another, they have fallen short. There can be no more excuses this time around and if they suffer another postseason disappointment, then expect major changes in 2023.
