Subscribe
Follow Us
Heading into the 2022-23 NBA season, plenty of folks thought that Joel Embiid, James Harden, and the Philadelphia 76ers would finally take that next step after years of postseason shortcomings and establish themselves as legitimate NBA title contenders. But fast forward to the current day, and it's evident that the Sixers fell very short of these expectations.
The Sixers treaded water this season. They finished the regular season with a fantastic 54-28 record, the third-best record in the Eastern Conference and the entire NBA. But after sweeping the Mikal Bridges-led Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs, the Sixers lost to Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Boston Celtics in seven games in the second round. The Sixers were up 3-2 in the Celtics series but failed to close them out in Games 6 and 7, thanks largely to masterclasses from Tatum in both games.
The Philadelphia 76ers' 2022-23 season was certainly underwhelming, but a productive free-agency period could have helped fans forget about the season that was. Unfortunately, though, Philadelphia has lost more than it gained thus far in free agency.
Jalen McDaniels (Toronto Raptors), Georges Niang (Cleveland Cavaliers), and Shake Milton (Minnesota Timberwolves) have all found new homes with other NBA franchises. And the Sixers' only free agency acquisitions to this point have been veteran floor general Patrick Beverley and center Mo Bamba.
The Sixers made a big mistake by letting one of those aforementioned players walk in free agency this summer. With all of that said, let's look at one big mistake that the Philadelphia 76ers made in NBA free agency:
1 big mistake by Sixers in 2023 NBA free agency
Letting Jalen McDaniels walk
The Sixers are very short on wing defenders at this juncture. They lost the best wing defender on their team — Jalen McDaniels, who the Sixers traded Matisse Thybulle and a second-round pick for back in February — to the Toronto Raptors in free agency. While McDaniels barely saw the court during the playoffs, he was very productive defensively in limited minutes with the team during the regular season, as he averaged 0.9 combined stocks — steals and blocks — across 24 regular-season appearances with the Sixers.
The best perimeter defender left on Philadelphia's roster is PJ Tucker. Tucker is an above-average defender at the wing position who uses his physicality to stymie opposing wings. But he's also very long in the tooth, as he's 38 years old and thus probably doesn't have much more productive basketball left in the tank. Tucker is also a liability on the offensive end at this stage of his career, as teams frequently left him wide open on the perimeter and dared him to take shots during the postseason.
Hence, the Sixers would be wise to add a wing defender to their roster sometime this summer. There aren't a whole lot of quality wing defenders left on the free agent market, but one who would fit great in Philadelphia is Chicago Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr. He averaged 1.1 combined steals and blocks in just 14.0 minutes per game with Chicago during the 2022-23 NBA campaign.
All in all, the Philadelphia 76ers' offseason hasn't been a total failure. The Beverley and Bamba signings are solid moves and bolster the team's depth at the point guard and center positions. But the Sixers should have kept Jalen McDaniels instead of letting him walk in free agency for nothing in return.
