The Philadelphia 76ers looked dominant for long stretches of the 2023–2024 NBA season, but injuries once again took their toll, and it became clear that changes would have to be made in free agency. The team struggled in their first-round playoff series loss at the hands of the New York Knicks.
Whatever you think of the moves general manager Daryl Morey made this summer, it can't be denied that he pushed all his chips to the center of the table. He acquired a big-ticket free agent and drafted a talented rookie. Morey also made several shrewd under-the-radar signings and re-signed several key contributors who reached free agency.
Let’s take a closer look at each move Morey made in free agency and assign a preliminary grade for each transaction.
Paul George makes the 76ers legitimate contenders
Paul George was the crown jewel of the Sixers’ 2024 free agent class, and his impact on and off the court will go a long way toward determining whether the Philadelphia 76ers are legitimate title contenders or not.
The Sixers have an elite guard in Tyrese Maxey and an elite big man in Joel Embiid. What the team needed more than anything heading into this off-season was to acquire a dynamic wing player. The perfect player would serve as the connective tissue between Maxey and Embiid. He would need to be somebody who could create his own shot and score efficiently from all three levels while also being able to play within the team's system.
Names such as Brandon Ingram were thrown around, but George fits this description perfectly. He’s a veteran player with elite scoring ability. He’s a lethal three-point shooter, his bread-and-butter is creating separation from the mid-range and beyond the arc, and he can also get to the rim and finish over, around and through defenders.
Yet, George is also willing to play an off-ball role, knocking down spot-up threes or leveraging shot takes to open up driving opportunities.
For years, the Sixers have been spurned by top-tier free agents. Philly always tried to create cap space and make themselves an option for players on the open market, but the top guys always seem to go to destination cities, such as Miami or Los Angeles, or to historic teams, such as the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, or the Lakers. Other guys would go to lower-tier teams where they could be the undisputed best player while racking up counting stats and highlights. For whatever reason, superstars just never seemed to want to sign with Philadelphia.
George broke that losing streak, and he’s ready to call the City of Brotherly Love home. This alone should endear him to fans off the court, and his performance on the court could put the Sixers over the top.
Paul George was exactly the player Philadelphia needed, and they got their guy.
Grade: A+
Extending Tyrese Maxey secured the team’s future
This was the most obvious move for the 76ers, even more obvious than signing George away from the City of Angels. Maxey significantly outperformed expectations as the 21st overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. He’s emerged as a star and is a borderline superstar. Maxey’s speed is his X-factor and it allows him to put a unique type of pressure on the defense.
Maxey could have pushed Morey and Philadelphia‘s front office to offer him an extension last year, but if the Sixers did that they wouldn’t have had the financial flexibility to sign George. Once George’s contract was secured, Morey immediately signed Maxey to a $205 million extension. That is the perfect deal for a perfect teammate and a near-perfect point guard.
Grade: A+
Caleb Martin was a great value pickup
Martin is a hybrid forward who can play both the three and four spots. Martin is a physical player who can hit threes and convert tough looks in the paint. He’s also a bulldog defensively and a relentless rebounder. After the team's struggles on the glass against the New York Knicks in their most recent playoff series, Philadelphia needed to get better at cleaning up missed shots.
Martin will immediately play a key role on the glass and at the defensive end. Any offensive contributions he makes will be a nice bonus.
Grade: A
KJ Martin, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kyle Lowry are great value re-signings
The 76ers resigned KJ Martin, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kyle Lowry this off-season. Each of these players had a critical role on last year’s team, and Morey re-signed them in the hopes that they’ll continue to provide value going forward.
With the addition of George along with Maxey’s extension, Philly’s front office didn’t have a ton of money left over to go out and acquire other big-name contributors.
Morey made a wise decision by resigning players he was already familiar with to team-friendly deals. None of these players are superstars, and they won’t have the highest-selling jerseys, but that doesn’t matter. The important thing is that they will each have a role to play and, if they each do their respective parts, the Sixers can win the NBA championship.
Kenyon Martin’s son is an explosive forward oozing with athleticism who is still learning some of the finer points of being a ball player. He could stand to improve his fundamentals a bit, and he needs to work on playing within the team's system, but he has all of the tools to be a contributor.
Grade: B+
Kelly Oubre Jr. is exactly who you would think of if you close your eyes and imagine the stereotypical Philadelphia athlete. He’s a dog in every sense of the word, aggressive and energetic to a fault. He’ll go out of his way to create chaos on the court.
He doesn’t really distinguish between good chaos and bad chaos, and he’ll make chaos for his own team as well as the opponent. However, Oubre Jr. also makes winning plays. He embodies hustle, grit, and determination, which makes him a perfect fit in the City of Brotherly Love.
Grade: A-
Lowry might be losing more of his athleticism, but he still has a role on this team. He’s a pesky defender and an incredibly smart player at both ends of the court. This makes him an asset, and he can still space the floor well from beyond the arc.
Grade: B
Andre Drummond provides some Embiid insurance
A familiar face returned to the 76ers when Morey brought back Andre Drummond on a two-year, $10 million deal. Drummond’s first dance in Philadelphia went well, and he should play a similar role this time around. The Middletown, Connecticut native is a talented big man who is at his best playing at maximum intensity for short periods of time.
Drummond won’t be at his best if Embiid goes down with injury and he’s forced to take on the starter role for an extended period of time. However, he can be a highly impactful player logging 10 to 20 minutes per night and spelling Embiid for short periods of time so the MVP can keep himself fresh and healthy.
It’s a misconception that Embiid‘s biggest issue is staying healthy. Yes, that certainly is an issue, but it’s not the biggest concern. He has been on the court for most of the team’s playoff matchups, but he hasn’t been at peak performance. He struggles with his conditioning, and gets winded quicker than other players.
When Embiid is winded, it zaps him of the tools that make him special. If the former UConn Husky can keep Embiid fresh by playing 10 to 20 minutes per night so the Cameroonian superstar can get some rest, this contract will absolutely be worth it. Drummond is a talented player, and he should have no problem doing that role.
Grade: A+
Eric Gordon is a veteran presence
Gordon probably won’t play a ton, but he’s a strong fit on a veteran minimum contract as an experienced leader, and he should be able to contribute in a small way to the 76ers. Gordon is still a capable three-point shooter, which will help him space the floor for the team.
Although his defensive skills have diminished along with his athleticism, he is an instinctive player, who can still provide some value on the defensive end by knowing where opponents want to go and beating them to their spot.
Grade: A
Follow Us
Subscribe
