With the 2024 NBA draft officially in the rear-view mirror and free agency rapidly approaching, the Philadelphia 76ers have a unique opportunity to identify and build the sort of team they want to field this fall, with only six players expected to be under contract with the team in the minute before the market opens – baring trade – in Joel Embiid, Jared McMain, Adem Bona, Ricky Council IV, Paul Reed, and Jeff Dowtin.
Now granted, that doesn't mean Philly can't bring back a few of their own, as Tyrese Maxey will 100 percent return on a max contract once Daryl Morey does his work in free agency and a few other role players from 2023-24, like Kelly Oubre, Nicolas Batum, and Kyle Lowery, will likely follow suit in the not-too-distant future too. Still, it's safe to say there will be plenty of fresh faces on the team this fall, and if the team makes the right moves, they could walk into 2024 as the widely accepted two seed in the east, leapfrogging a Knicks team that has made some major moves already.
If, however, the 76ers use their money on these two players, their road to a chip may become a whole lot harder, as with only so much money to spend, Philly can't afford to whiff on their cap space or on any of their options.
Two players the Philadelphia 76ers should avoid signing.
2. Andre Drummond
When it comes to the Philadelphia Eagles, there's no player more popular than the backup quarterback. From Nick Foles – who has a stadium in front of the Linc – in 2017 and 2018, to Gardner Minshew last year, fans love the guy who probably won't play a significant role but theoretically could if something awful happens, with the former likely set to become one of the rare backups in NFL history to have his jersey retired.
When it comes to the 76ers, no player is more popular than Embiid's backup, as after spending a decade watching him miss at least a dozen games in every one of his professional seasons, Philly will always need to call on someone to pick up the slack when's on the bench in street clothes.
And in June of 2024, no potential backup center is more popular than Andre Drummond, the two-time All-Star center who started off his career in Detroit and played for Philly for 49 games from 2021-22.
Now, as fans may or may not know, the Sixers actually tried to trade for Drummond earlier this year, with the Bulls being unwilling to take a few second-round picks for his serves before the deadline, but now that he's an unrestricted free agent, the “Big Penguin” can quite literally sign wherever he'd like, be that back in Philly or with a team like the Knicks, who might just need a new backup center should Isaiah Hartenstein leave for greener pastures.
Could Philly pull the trigger, handing Drummond a few million to play an essential role in 2024-25? Sure thing, but frankly, after selecting Adem Bona in the second round out of UCLA to compete with Paul Reed at the five spot, it's worth wondering just how much run Drummond would even earn in the postseason, which feels like it could be a significant deciding factor in his own decision-making process.
If the Sixers trade Reed for, well, anything but another center, then yeah, bring in Drummond, give him his 12 minutes a game, and allow him to start when Embiid needs a break, but if Reed is a lock to make the roster there simply might not be enough of a role for either side to agree on a deal, especially if the Sixers have to use an exception to get a deal done. If it comes down to signing Oubre on the MLE or bringing back Drummond at the same number, the former has to take priority.
1. DeMar DeRozan
Allow me to paint you a picture of an anonymous free agent, Player X, if you will.
This player has experience playing under current Sixers head coach Nick Nurse, finished second in the NBA last season in clutch points scored at 182, and, at only 34, ranks 31st in NBA history in points scored, with the potential to rise into the top-25 if he has a good season by his standards. Factor in a potential willingness to sign a contract for about half the value of the max, and theoretically, this player sounds like he should be the 76ers' top target, not a player they should avoid.
And yet, when you learn that the player in question shoots a ghastly 29.6 career 3-point shooting percentage and only puts up an average of 1.6 shots per game, well, that excitement goes away very quickly.
Yeah, you guessed it, Player X is DeMar DeRozan, and while he does have his fans, he's simply too unusual to be the Sixers' big free agent get unless, of course, he's willing to sign some crazy cheap contract the likes of which Daryl Morey simply can't refuse.
You see, there's a small but vocal segment of the NBA fanbase that has always imagined DeRozan as a sort of “super sixth man,” with an ability to get buckets like Lou Williams or Jamal Crawford, even if his throwback game doesn't fit smoothly into the modern-day 3-and-D wing archetype most teams look for in a starter. If DeRozan wants to sub in when a scorer like Embiid, LeBron James, or Giannis Antetokounmpo subs out and serve as the joystick player who attempts to score as a driver with an eye to the wings, then yeah, he could finally secure the ring he was borderline robbed of when he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs a half decade ago but frankly, is that the role he wants? After starting 1098 of his 1110 career games, including every game since his rookie season, why would DeRozan sign a deal for a diminished role at the MLE when he could look to sign with a team like, say, the Orlando Magic, where he can continue to start and ride off into the sunset on his own teams?
Frankly, that feels like the play.
After declaring that he believes that the Sixers are unstoppable when Embiid is surrounded by shooters, the Sixers would be wise to focus on true 3-and-D players, from Paul George to Cam Johnson, in the pursuit of that team-building strategy.
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