The Philadelphia 76ers did little but tread water this season. Heading into the 2022-23 campaign, plenty of folks thought that the Sixers would finally take that next step and establish themselves as a legitimate NBA title contender. But fast forward to the current day, and it's clear that the Sixers fell short of these expectations.
The Sixers finished the regular season with a 54-28 record, the third-best record in the Eastern Conference and the entire NBA. But after sweeping the 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 Conference Semifinals. 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.
While the Sixers' season ended in disappointing fashion, if they make just a few free agency moves, they should be an Eastern Conference powerhouse once again in 2024. With all of that said, here are the two best Sixers targets in free agency following the 2023 NBA Draft:
2 best Sixers targets in free agency after 2023 NBA Draft
James Harden
James Harden's appearance on this list sort of goes without saying. While he's no longer the MVP-caliber player he was with the Houston Rockets five years ago, he showed this season that he's still among the best scorers and playmakers in the game.
Harden led the entire NBA in assists per game among all qualified players this season with 10.7. It's the second time in his pro career that he's led the league in dimes.
But what was arguably just as impressive as his assists average was his low turnover average. Harden averaged 3.4 turnovers a game, which may be high for the average point guard but not for a player with Harden's usage rate, as evidenced by his assist-to-turnover ratio. Harden's assist-to-turnover ratio was 3.1 this season, the 18th-best in the NBA and ahead of facilitators like Nikola Jokic and Ben Simmons.
And scoring-wise, Harden is still elite, thanks to his value as a three-point shooter. He shot 38.5% from behind the three-point arc on 7.2 attempts per game, a very impressive blend of usage and accuracy.
Understandably, some Sixers fans may have mixed feelings about James Harden after he laid an egg in Philadelphia's Game 7 loss against the Celtics. But there's no denying that the Sixers are a better team with Harden than without him.
Josh Hart
PJ Tucker was the starting power forward for the Sixers this season, and while he's still a great defender, he's largely a liability on offense at this stage of his career. Hence, the Sixers should look to upgrade at the power forward position this summer, and Knicks forward Josh Hart makes a lot of sense as a free-agent target.
Like Tucker, Hart is an elite perimeter defender, as he averaged 1.4 steals with the Knicks this season.
But what separates Hart from Tucker is that Hart is a much more skilled offensive player. Hart is a savvy playmaker (3.8 assists per game) and a major threat to score from behind the three-point arc (he shot 37.8% from deep as a Knick).
Only time will tell who the Sixers will sign in free agency this summer. But what's already abundantly clear is that they should try to re-sign James Harden and sign Josh Hart.