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Heading into the 2022-23 NBA campaign, plenty of folks thought that Joel Embiid 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 clear that the Sixers fell short of these expectations.
The Sixers did little but tread water this season. They finished the regular season with a terrific 54-28 record, the third-best record in the Eastern Conference and the entire NBA. But after sweeping Mikal Bridges and 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 round two. The Sixers were up 3-2 in the Celtics series but failed to close them out in Games 6 and 7, thanks largely to standout performances from Tatum in both games.
The Philadelphia 76ers' 2022-23 season was certainly disappointing, but a productive free-agency period could have helped fans forget about the season that was. Unfortunately, though, the Sixers have lost more than they've gained thus far in free agency.
Jalen McDaniels (Toronto Raptors), Georges Niang (Cleveland Cavaliers), and Shake Milton (Minnesota Timberwolves) have all found new homes already. And the Sixers' only free agency acquisition to this point has been Patrick Beverley.
After all that has happened with the Sixers over the first week of free agency, there is one glaring weakness on this that stands above them all. With all of that said, let's look at the biggest need the Sixers must address after the first weekend of 2023 NBA free agency:
Biggest need Sixers still must address after first weekend of 2023 NBA free agency
Wing defenders
The Sixers are really lacking wing defenders at this juncture. They have lost the best wing defender on their team, Jalen McDaniels, to the Toronto Raptors in free agency. While McDaniels hardly played 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.
Philadelphia's best perimeter defender left on the roster is, without a doubt, PJ Tucker. Tucker is an above-average defender at the wing position who uses his physicality to disrupt 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 during the postseason.
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. Jones Jr, who's 6'5″ with a 7'0″ wingspan, has been one of the top wing defenders in the game for a few years now and starred on that end in limited minutes with the Bulls this season. He averaged 1.1 combined steals and blocks in just 14.0 minutes per game with Chicago.
All in all, the Philadelphia 76ers' offseason hasn't been a total failure. The Beverley signing was a solid move, but the Sixers would be wise to acquire at least one wing defender before the start of the 2023-24 NBA season, considering that Jalen McDaniels just left in free agency recently and PJ Tucker is long in the tooth.
