Overview
At the conclusion of the 2019-2020 NBA Season, the Philadelphia 76ers had a record of 43-30 which placed them at 6th in the Eastern Conference and 12th in the league. The Philadelphia 76ers will enter the offseason as one of the most expensive and talked about teams in the NBA. After another disappointing season full of injury, trade rumours and coaching drama, the 76ers look to enter this offseason with a clean slate. They have just hired Daryl Morey as their president of basketball operations in the hopes that he can make the right moves to lead them to championship contention. Along with this, Doc Rivers has been hired as their new head coach. If Rivers can maximise the team’s defence as well as improve their offence, the 76ers may be closer to a title than most people believe. Al Horford and Tobias Harris will be the major names on the trading block for the team as they look to reduce their overall salary to make room for some shooting and depth as the team is significantly lacking in these key areas. The major question surrounding this team will be if Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons can coexist together on a championship team. The main focus for the 76ers this offseason will be to construct a more balanced roster and adapt their game plan to move into the group of championship contenders in 2021.
Salary Cap
Currently, the Philadelphia 76ers have nine players with guaranteed contracts for the 2020-2021 NBA season. There are several players with non-guaranteed contracts including Furkan Korkmaz, Norvel Pelle and two-way player Marial Shayok. I expect all of these contracts to become fully guaranteed early in the offseason as all three of these players can provide some solid rotation minutes off the bench. There are no team or player options for the 76ers this offseason and the team has no restricted free agents. The 76ers have several unrestricted free agents in Alec Burks, Raul Neto, Kyle O’Quinn, and Glenn Robinson III. The 76ers projects to have the $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception available as well as a $1.8 million trade exception.
Depth Chart –
Free Agency
The Philadelphia 76ers will enter the 2020 free agency period as one of the most expensive teams in the NBA with almost $150 million dedicated to just eleven players. The main focus during this time will be on testing the trade market for Tobias Harris and Al Horford. Both players can be very useful on a championship level team, but their contracts are worth much more than their overall value and are therefore extremely difficult to trade. Ideally, the 76ers will be looking to add shooting and defence to their team while maintaining depth at all positions. They are also willing to attach picks in the potential trades should they find the right trade to take their roster to the next level. With Daryl Morrey entering the front office, they may also be looking to add a third star to the roster. Jrue Holiday would be an ideal fit for this team as he is an efficient shooter who is extremely consistent on the defensive end of the court. With Ben Simmons able to move to the power forward position, they can also look at making a trade for Chris Paul. He is a veteran who can bring a great level of composure to the team’s offence and the 76ers are in the best position to match his large contract. Bryn Forbes is a player the 76ers may be able to go after with their taxpayer mid-level exception as he can provide a significant shooting boost to the roster. If the Spurs choose not to retain him and the 76ers offer a longer-term contract, they may be able to sign him. The 76ers should be able to retain Kyle O’Quinn and Raul Neto on minimum contracts but I expect Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III to earn contracts of more value with other teams due to their solid individual seasons.
2020 Draft
The Philadelphia 76ers will have the 21st pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. The 76ers will most likely look to draft with this pick although they may have to include it in a Tobias Harris or Al Horford trade should that take place prior to the draft. The 76ers may look to draft a confident shooter who can run the offence and move Ben Simmons to the power forward position. With the 21st pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers should look to select Cole Anthony, a 6’3” point guard out of North Carolina. Anthony is a score-first point guard with the ability to score at all three levels. He is confident with the ball in his hands and has the shooting stroke to back it up. The only risk with drafting Anthony is that he hasn’t proven to be a team player and will need to improve his passing in order to be successful on this team. With Doc Rivers as his coach, I expect this aspect of his game to improve and he can look to make his way onto the starting line-up of this team at times during next season.
Summary
The Philadelphia 76ers are a team with a lot of decisions to make with a new member of the front office and a new head coach. They are one of the most expensive teams in the NBA and will most likely have to move on from Tobias Harris or Al Horford in order to improve significantly and become a serious championship contender. If they can add some shooting and depth to their roster as well as find an offensive strategy that will utilize Simmons and Embiid together, they can go into next season confident that they will make it deep into the playoffs.
Projected Depth Chart 2020/21 Season –
Players IN: Bryn Forbes, Cole Anthony
Players OUT: Alec Burks, Glenn Robinson III
Trade Potential: Tobias Harris, Al Horford