It has now been over two weeks since the Philadelphia 76ers moved on from James Harden, sending him to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Daryl Morey made some very questionable moves this offseason but now has a roster that might be a bit too deep to incorporate everyone who could give them decent minutes into a 10-man rotation. Gone are the days when a third of the Sixers' roster was centers. Now the roster is stuffed with wings like it's at a football tailgate.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse has to figure out to what extent Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Marcus Morris Sr. and K.J. Martin fit on the team. He explained the day after the trade went down what he sees in each of them.
“The group as a whole, I think they've all — three of the four, anyway — have played considerable minutes in the NBA,” Nurse said, referring to Morris, Covington and Batum. “That's a good start. The three of the four also have a shooting component to their, game, which I think — I say that a lot — it's always important when you got somebody like Joel that you got guys that can space and the guys that have taken shots in the bright lights and made them. That's important.”
The veteran additions each have play styles with their own wrinkles but are largely 3-and-D players. Morris has shown to be more of a shot-creator in recent years, Batum is a very good passer and Covington is adept at getting his hands on the ball on defense. Martin's shooting hasn’t proven to be as consistent as the others and his value on defense has yet to be realized but Nurse sees him as an intriguing piece, too.
“And I do like, K.J. too,” the Sixers' head coach continued. “He's a young, explosive athlete. Pretty good player who's kind of on the rise pretty quickly, I think. He's just kind of starting to figure out what he can do in games and all that stuff.”
Some of the new Sixers will probably not be Sixers anymore at the trade deadline. The three veterans all have contracts that could be used in a trade and Martin's salary/upside could make him included as a throw-in. Philly wants to add more high-level talent around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey but for the time being, the Sixers have some decisions to make for their starting lineup and rotation.
Who should be the Sixers' fifth starter?
After losing Tucker, Nurse made Kelly Oubre Jr. the fifth starter but did not commit to the decision for the long run. He said that he “certainly” loves having an “explosive scorer” like him coming off the bench. The indication was that Oubre would start until Nurse can more fully evaluate the newcomers, though those plans have been forced to be updated due to circumstances outside of anyone's control.
Oubre shined in the starting lineup — scoring the ball efficiently, playing within his means and contributing on defense — but has been unavailable for the past three games after getting hit by a car. Philly will be without him for a good bit but thankfully for not as long as previously anticipated. Batum has already been away from the team multiple times due to a personal matter. Once they are each able to return, they should each be featured in prominent roles.
Morris and Martin are the least likely to start, or even get real minutes, for the Sixers. Although he has good size and playoff experience, Morris has lost a lost multiple steps. His expiring contract — worth $17 million, the largest of the newbies — makes him the most likely to be used as a trade chip, anyway. Martin has intrigue but is seemingly not polished enough to play over his veteran teammates.
Batum's ability to shoot, handle the ball and pass makes him a wonderful connective piece for Maxey and Embiid. Those traits also make him well-suited to play off the bench, whose offensive prowess is lacking. He provides versatile defense as well. Batum is one of the five best players on the current team, someone who can elevate anyone he plays with. But as he approaches age 35, he’s probably not cut out to play 30 minutes every night. He hasn’t averaged that much per game since the 2018-19 season.
Meanwhile, Covington isn’t as versatile as Batum but his experience playing alongside Embiid is a bonus, even though the 105 games they played together before this season came years ago. The Sixers' increased focus on turning defense into offense makes Covington a natural fit. Few players in basketball are as good at deflecting passes, which can get Philly in even more fast breaks. On offense, he serves as a perfectly fine perimeter shooter.
The Sixers having three legitimately good forwards can easily lead to the conclusion that only one of them will get the start alongside Embiid, Tobias Harris and the backcourt of De'Anthony Melton and Maxey. But what if it's Melton, the expendable role player who has experience starting and coming off the bench, whose role gets changed? Even ignoring Oubre starting the year off much better than Melton, he's an upgrade on offense with his ability to score in the paint.
Melton has recalibrated since starting the season in a woeful shooting slump, converting on nine of his last 12 three-point attempts since shooting 32.6 percent from deep in his first nine games of the season. But his shooting on shots at the rim remains ghastly — just 7-24 shooting in that area, per Cleaning the Glass. Even if he warms up and/or gets some easy shots to boost his percentage, he's usually someone who tops out just below 60 percent shooting at the rim, which is still not good.
Oubre, meanwhile, has had previous seasons shooting in the mid-60-percent range on shots at the rim. He can be used as a lob finisher on cuts more reliably than Melton due to his size and has shown a propensity for hitting short pull-up shots that he can use as a decent audible when he can’t find space at the rim. Oubre is also more adept at creating his own looks.
Melton feels more at home on defense but Oubre is showing he can make plays on that end, too. The drop-off on that end isn’t as big as the drop-off from Oubre to Melton on offense, thus making Oubre a better fit alongside the starters and Melton a strong option off the bench in heavy minutes.
How should the team plan their rotation?
By moving Melton to the bench and starting Covington, the Sixers could add size to their starting lineup while still finding a good amount of minutes for Melton. Batum coming off the bench would help Philly balance the minutes of its best playmakers.
The Sixers playing Batum with Embiid in the minutes that Maxey rests gives Philly some much-needed flow on offense. With no reliable ball-handlers to play when Maxey sits, Batum could serve as a co-ball handler with Embiid to keep the offense going, especially with a versatile scorer like Oubre having minutes that overlap with theirs. Playing Maxey and Melton together gives them a chance to flaunt their chemistry and complementary play styles.
To simplify it, Nurse's current rotation pattern is to have Embiid play the entirety of the first and third quarters while working in the backups alongside him by the end of those quarters. Then, Maxey and Harris play the whole second and fourth quarters, the first six minutes of which with Paul Reed and the final six with Embiid.
At full strength, the Sixers' rotation outline, give or take a few minutes for each shift and some sprinkling in of other players here and there, should look as follows for each half. Please note that this suggestion is not exactly how Nurse should play his players but rather a starting point to work off of based on the flow of the game.
The key to the Sixers' rotation for now is to make sure two of Maxey, Embiid and Batum are on the court at all times. The lack of playmaking elsewhere on the roster is brutal and can lead to stretches where the offense goes nowhere. Although Maxey has been able to do just fine leading lineups without Batum, the veteran could make him even more dangerous in the Embiid-less minutes.
One of the Sixers' best lineups has been Maxey-Oubre-Harris-Batum-Embiid, so Nurse would have to break the online to go to it. Patrick Beverley would make this possible by playing Batum's minutes to start a quarter, sub in Covington a few minutes later and then close with Batum.
While Jaden Springer may be more deserving of minutes than PatBev right now, Nurse seems more inclined to go with the veteran guard. Deploying either player to end the quarter would work with Embiid and Batum running things and Melton serving as a floor spacer. Furkan Korkmaz and Danuel House Jr. would each be matchup-dependent 10th men — the former is a better passer and connective piece on offense while the latter is more defensive-minded. Both wings are comfortable shooting from deep.
Although Nurse likes having Oubre come off the bench, he could be served well as a guy who plays with Embiid and Batum in the first and third quarters. There are countless ways for the Sixers to mix and match but the above rotation plan addresses the roster's deficiencies, affords appropriate minutes to each player and gives Nurse room for in-game adjustments.
Who should the Sixers trade for?
Although the Sixers have more flexibility than any other top team this offseason, Morey indicated that he would like to make a trade for someone before the trade deadline. Philly will need another high-level contributor to make it in the playoffs.
Morey mentioned that his ideal, realistic candidate can contribute on both ends of the floor and has a playmaking component. Given the Sixers' roster flexibility this offseason, it can be safely inferred that Philly isn’t looking to add anyone with a long-term contract unless they’re a certified star and proven playoff contributor, the trade availability of which is super tough to gauge.
The Sixers trading for a guard makes sense given their lack of ball-handling. However, they don’t have to set their sights that narrowly. Because Embiid handles the ball more than the typical big man, any forward who is comfortable handling the ball makes sense. The noise around Zach LaVine will persist but with two more guaranteed years left on his deal and his shaky playoff experiences, he doesn’t fit the bill.
Pascal Siakam fits the description Morey laid out pretty well and OG Anunoby, despite not being much of a playmaker, would be super helpful to have as a superb wing defender in the playoffs. The question, though, is how willing the Toronto Raptors are to trade either player, much less trade one of them to Philly, a division rival that employs the head coach they just got into a spat with and fired.
If the New York Knicks would be willing to trade with a division rival, Immanuel Quickley would make a ton of sense. He defends very well and brings playmaking and scoring on offense, both on and off the ball. The Knicks failing to agree to an extension with him suggests his future there is uncertain. But that also doesn’t mean they don’t value him. Even if New York was willing to listen to offers for him again, the price would not be cheap.
Gordon Hayward makes sense, too. He fits Morey's description, is not under contract for next season and plays for a Charlotte Hornets team that will probably make him available for trade to make more room for their younger wings. The 33-year-old's injury history, however, is quite worrisome. He hasn’t played 60 games in a season since the 2018-19 campaign.
The trade market should come much more into focus in the coming months. The Sixers have positioned themselves well to be competitive on the court until then and have the right assets and flexibility to make a big move.
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