76ers Pre-Free Agency Discussions

Who are some targets that the Philadelphia 76ers need to acquire to make themselves a playoff contender for this upcoming season? We discuss those options on this episode, and other NBA trades that have happened already happened earlier this week and today. #Philadelphia76ers #NBAonX

Transcript

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Well, folks, it's just about here. The new league year for the NBA is just about ready to begin. The official quote unquote tampering period, uh, if you will, is about to get underway here shortly this evening, and we're gonna go over some of the moves that the 76ers can look to make. They've already agreed to bring back Dominic Barlow and Dalen Terry while they declined their team option on Trendon Watford. So there are obviously two huge lingering question marks for the 76ers right now in terms of players that were on the team last year. Uh obviously Trendon Watford becoming an unrestricted free agent, and I think all signs point towards him saying goodbye to the city of Philadelphia. Kelly Oubre Jr., Quentin Grimes, Andre Drummond are also set to become free agents as well. I would deem the likeliest of the three to come back would probably be Kelly Oubre. I think Quentin Grimes was too much of a moorey guy, although, granted, there could be reasoning to say, well, he fits in with Nick Nurse. Maybe. I don't think I just don't think he fits in with the team, and I think the Sixers will look to go elsewhere for backcourt depth this upcoming season. I doubt Andre Drummond comes back, so I think for the second time now we'll be saying goodbye to Drummond as well. But ultimately, the 76ers need to get better this free agency. I mean, there's no doubt about it. If they want to give Tyrese Maxie and VJ Edgecombe a legitimate chance at continuing to grow themselves, number one, they're going to need to really change their offensive outlook, which is going to be different for obviously a couple of veterans on the 76ers team. But building around Maxi and Edgecombe is going to be very important for the 76ers as they move forward, and especially with Phylon there as well, which no doubt creates kind of an interesting perspective for the 76ers as well. Now, the ongoing thing theme here for the 76ers, and will probably continue in the Mike Gansy era, is I I mean, I highly doubt they're going to look to go over any kind of first apron and even come into the conversation of going over a second apron. I I doubt highly that that happens. There's probably about $17 million as of right now, it looks like, of wiggle room for this upcoming year for Gansy. Now, this is kind of when we talk about, man, if you were signing up to be the next president of basketball operations for the 76ers, you are signing up right away to be kind of no pun intended, but kind of capped at where you are. And not really enough room to move things around, get kind of creative, because it's just the fact of the matter is you've got aging veterans on this team, you've got guys that aren't necessarily the most durable players, as we know, and the ability to be able to move money around and the ability to be able to get creative, you're you're kind of trapped in that regard. It's it's a it's kind of a losing battle. And I mean, Myers is there, and we talked about, I mean, we've been talking about throughout this month, ever since Gansy was hired, you know, Bob Myers is probably going to be the guy that will be behind the scenes making a lot of basketball decisions. Gansy is just kind of the face. He's more of the fall guy, if anything. It's more like, from what I see, because this is essentially what, and I've said this before, this is what he's looking to do. He's basically saying, and he obviously being Josh Harris, I know nothing about basketball. I know squat, but I built this quote-unquote sports empire, so here's how we're gonna do this. I'm going to oversee everything in terms of money-wise and give, you know, shell out whatever that I want to. Myers is going to be the guy that basically oversees those decisions in that department, and then Gansy's going to be below him. But Gansy's basically going to be taking direction from Myers. And he in some ways he's going to be a puppet. In other ways, he's essentially going to be always having to go Myers and say, hey, you know, you're not just going to the owner now for it. You're going to Bob Myers and saying, hey, I need such and such for this player. What do you think about this? What do you think about this trade? Da da da da da da da. And I think you saw that with the phylon pick. Because one, he was best player available, fine. But not only that, but you're replacing which you traded away at the deadline with Jared McCain. Which smartly the 76ers, I think, we're not on board with. The one thing you can give them, and I th and I think really Myers was the biggest one who was like, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. What are you doing here? Which wouldn't surprise me if that caused a little friction between the two. But anyways, there's about 17 million dollars of wiggle room right now for the 76ers spenditures. Their mid-level exception is that $17 million. And so far, here are some of the names that we know of. One name that they're linked to, which kind of feels like a shoe-in at this point that the Sixers will be acquiring is Dean Wade, who averaged six points, four boards for the Cavs last year as a rotational guy, and that's all he you know, he's a rotational guy. He's not knocking your socks off. Um it's gonna be probably the most likely he ends up as a 76er. I mean, that Mike Ganzi, obviously, that kind of connection there will, I think, prove to bring him to Philly. And that's gonna be the biggest reason right there. He's an exceptional defender, which is fine. The 76ers have needed defense for a while. I mean, let's face it. But is he a needle mover? No. He's not. And he's not gonna be a guy that probably would lead a bench, let's put it that way. He's not that kind of player. Could be really good on the boards, could be effective at times, but the reason why you're getting him is because of his defense. Now, in terms of backup bigs that the Sixers could look at, Joe Jock Landell, potentially. You know, uh I mean, I I don't know necessarily how much you'd be getting there. He averaged 11 points, six boards between the Grizzlies and Hawks this past season. Um we'll see, though, if Landell is going to be a 76er and could legitimately be an option. For their wing depth, Zaire Williams of the Brooklyn Nets. You know, they declined their $6.25 million option on him. He averaged 10 points last year. 34% shooter from three-point land. Alright, that's fine. Um I don't know how much stock you put into that in terms of him doing well in the Nets. It's kind of like how well Quentin Grimes did two years ago on the Sixers. Like, yeah, okay, but you were the only guy there as really an option, so sure, you starred here, but does that mean you're gonna star with Maxie and Edgecombe and you know, and beat and Paul George on the nights that they're healthy? Like, how's that gonna look? How are you gonna fit in with them? And phylon there as well. Now, the one guy who I could legitimately see the 76ers taking, and I think this would be a move that would let you know, hey, they are seriously buying into what they have in terms of their backcourt and going fully into this backcourt modeled team, but not only that, but needing more and more veteran leadership there as well, would be Tim Hardaway Jr. Looks like the Nuggets are going to move on from him. He was top three in the six man of the year race last year, averaged 13.5 points, 45% shooter from the field, 41% from three. It wouldn't be surprising if the Sixers go that in into that kind of stretch. And then as I'm obviously looking here at this article from Liberty Ballers, they uh I love how the writer here mentioned Chris Middleton saying, in honor of Mori, we need to have one washed veteran here, right? Um Middleton, who played in 63 games last year between the Wizards and Mavericks, averaged 10 points, four boards, and three assists. Um, I mean, is he really going to come in and make an immediate impact off the bench, maybe, and provide some veteran leadership, sure. But that's about it. Mo Wagner as well, Franz Wagner's uh brother. Mo, who averaged 11 points and 56% shooter from the field, uh, suffered a torn ACL in December 24, caused him to miss the beginning of this year. Now we'll see if Mo ultimately ultimately will decide to come and be a backup big to embiede. I mean, I could see it happening, I think realistically it would make sense. Now the question is the three guys that I would, if you had, if you could figure out a way to get two out of three between Hardaway, Middleton, and Wagner, I could sit here and say I'm okay with, especially because, okay, you get better in the backcourt, you add some depth in the front court, and then Wagner would be a solid backup to embiede. Sure, that's that's fine. At this point, have at it. You know, I I I don't know really how much better they are going to get. It's tough. Now you could say, because Marvin Bagley the third is also available as well. Now, Bagley, uh, let's just say in his time between the Wizards and Mavericks last year, averaged 10.6 boards. A lot younger, obviously, than Middleton, and could potentially come in and just again provide that depth that you need along the wings. Might not be bad, could also be a four and a slash five, and you know, it's six foot ten, two thirty-five. Um, definitely a four or five tweener guy. We already have a Dembona, and he could be a little bit better of an Adembona, but you know, if you have two guys of the same ilk on the same team, I think that could cause a little friction. But I mean, what the hell? You know, why not go ahead and go with getting someone younger? Now, granted, what would that again, you probably in this situation, the ability to be able to ford a depth guard like a hardaway, which probably would mean it's just gonna be Dean Wade, and then a veteran forward, and a Chris Middleton, who needs the vet minimum, or a Bagley, who could also come in and provide maybe even a younger spark, and you kind of take you rolled the dice with him, and then you have Mo Wagner, whom Between him and Lai, I would take Wagner. Between him and Jock, I'm going with Wagner. I think that would make a lot more sense, much younger player. Now, does all this really result in them truly trying to build around Maxi and Edgecombe? Is and it isn't. Is and it isn't. Because let's face it, you've needed to add front court depth since. I mean, how much time do we have to talk about how bad the Sixers' front court depth has been in the last ten years? I don't need to exactly tell anyone here that they don't already know. Your back your you gotta find backcourt. The one thing the Sixers have going for them right now is they have a solid backcourt with Maxian Edgecombe, and then hopefully Phylon projects to be as good of a player as everyone says he's gonna be. If he's as good of a player as everyone says he is, he hopefully will provide more in terms of a 82-game basis or however many games he plays than what Jared McCain provided you with last season. Because McCain struggled to find himself early on. Now, this is going to be growing pains for him as a rookie for phylon. I mean, it's kind of why you sit there and go, yeah, him as your number one or number two option on the off the bench, is that really what you want? That's why it's you know, it's kind of an eyebrow raiser, like, eh, I don't know. And that's why Hardaway would become enticing. Now, in terms of the other needs of the Sixers, you're big, the wing depth, and all that stuff. That's where Gansy's really going to need to show his ability to get creative. And it's not going to be easy. It's not going to be easy one bit with the money restrictions that he's going to have, which is why this is probably going to look more and more like last year's team more than ever. So we'll see what things kind of or how things kind of transpire here as we move along. Now, the NBA saw a couple major trades occur in the last 72 hours with Lamello Ball going to the Minnesota Timberwolves, which everyone is gaga over. I gotta say, it's going to be a story all year in the NBA. If I was a writer for the Minnesota Timberwolves, if I was doing a podcast for the Minnesota Timberwolves, I would just constantly be looking at that chemistry situation between ball and Anthony Edwards throughout the entire season. Both ball-dominant players. They essentially, I mean, one of them is going to have to be a 1B in this 1A, 1B situation. Now you're going to need two guys who are going to put up well over 20 shots per game. That's fine. But are they going to coexist on the court at the same time together? Every time you watch the Hornets last year, I mean, we saw it firsthand in the game against them where Lamello Ball just was shot chucking at the end of that game against the Sixers down the stretch. And it was kind of like, man, I can't believe this guy's just, you know, putting up shot after shot after shot. And isn't it interesting? The Hornets are trying to find themselves here in the Eastern Conference. They're trying to get better. And they're electing to not bring back the man who's kind of looked at as their best player overall on that team. And then you look at the situation with the Timberwolves, and in a loaded Western Conference, this is the guy they go to. Because what I find kind of odd is it's like, wow, that's the guy you want. Now, realistically, I could have seen other teams maybe be more enticed to take on Lamello Ball as they try and build. I mean, you could have seen the Utah Jazz say, hey, we need a ball-dominant point guard as we try and rebuild this thing. Let's get Lamello Ball. I could have seen that more than the Timberwolves. Now, the other big trade that happened yesterday, John Morant to the Trailblazers. Which you want to talk about loading up in your backcourt. I mean, you got Morant, you got Scoot, Damian Lillard, well, coming off that injury, we'll see what he looks like in his stinton second stint, second go-around with the Portland Trailblazers at the end of his career. That's a wild trade right there. And and, you know, it's a shame because three, four years ago, Ja was looked at as the guy that was going to put Memphis basketball, Grizzlies basketball, back to a point that it's really never even been in Memphis. And even when they were in Vancouver. I mean, come on. And instead, you're just getting a situation in which it's like, wow, back to square one, back to where you were when you felt like you found the diamond in the rough out of Murray State in Jameron. What a story it was. The guy who could jump out of the gym. A guy that, you know, the New Orleans Pelicans probably sat there and went, man, you know, for a while the Pelicans probably sat there and went, man, we should have taken this guy over Zion, because at least we know he would have played. Well, he's not playing if he's flashing a gun around on social media. Let's be honest with that. And that's what makes this interesting. I don't know if they're saying, well, we can save his career because we'll pair him up with Dame, and Dame can act as a you know, to uh to quote Kyrie Irving a fatherly role in his life, I guess, or just a mentor role, probably the better way to phrase that. Because, I mean, he's got t you want to talk about the Iverson situation here being bad in the early stages of his career? Well, at least the Sixers didn't ultimately send him to Detroit, and he was able to figure it out with Larry Brown on his lonesome. They gotta send his you know what out to Portland in a trade in the same conference to try and figure himself out. And then you've got this one hot off the presses. Kawhi Leonard going back to the Raptors. So, the Toronto Raptors, who were a I mean, a nice story this year, good story in the NBA, are now saying, you know what? We wanna we want to get the gang back together. Here comes Kawhi Leonard, the claw is back. After being in LA for the last couple seasons, after, remember, after they won the championship, he texted, I think it was in a group chat, he said, I'm out, I'm head to LA. Right after they won the chip. So, we're talking about a player who's now gonna try and find himself with R.J. Barrett, Scotty Barnes, and now Brandon Graham and Grady Dick, who are gonna be heading to LA for the raptor the the Clippers get two first round picks, a pick swap, and two seconds. I mean, that's just that's unbelievable right there. That's something that if you're the Clippers, you kinda get a King's ransom for this guy. I mean, it's just 35 years old, and you're getting that much for him. And it's only gonna make more people continue to create the noise, although it's kinda not worth it. Now it's two future first, and all I'm seeing here is two future first, so I don't think we know which first round picks yet it is, at least not that I've seen. But it's only gonna make the noise that much louder for Joel Embiid and Paul George to try and ship them off. Although Kawhi Leonard has a history in Toronto. That's what makes that I mean, although I don't know why he'd give up that much. I guess they feel like they're close, and hey, the time is now, and you know, the the Celtics aren't doing anything. They're not adding. We gotta go after the you know, the the Pistons haven't done anything, the Cavs are probably gonna get worse. Let's make a run. I mean, it's unbelievable. Now You got where everyone wants to be for how many summers in a row is this? Or not in a row, but how many summers is this now? 2010, 2014, 2019. The entire 2010s. Three out of those ten seasons, the NBA offseason, was ruled by the decision. The decision for LeBron James. Who is now once again deciding, you know, it's like the when uh like Full House decided to have a rerun, you know, make it Fuller House, even though it's like, okay, this is this kind of, you know, is was what it was back in the day, and now they're bringing it back. Like Happy Gilmore, they make a second movie. Okay, so now LeBron James is deciding to have, you know, his fourth season of Let Me Make It LeBron James Summer. As he is now an unrestricted free agent. Now, the first name then off the board that you heard about was the Golden State Warriors in terms of a team. The Miami Heat could also be there as well, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Any team that he's played for thus far could also be in the mix, aside from obviously the Lakers. Boy, I gotta tell you, listen, it's I always thought about this when the Lakers traded for Luka Doncic, like, okay, this is probably gonna be Doncich's team soon, because I kind of assumed LeBron would retire or this could happen. And obviously this is the direction we're going in. In all honesty, good luck. I mean, good luck to any team that takes that on. Because you're essentially saying, I mean, any president of basketball operations is gonna have zero control over anything, because he's just gonna come in and look to bet put the best team around him. Now here's the here's the cheese. You got Jalen Brown up in Boston, looks like he's gonna be out. Is he trying to form the LeBron you know, LeBron, Jalen Brown situation elsewhere? Are they gonna team up somewhere or is he gonna say, hey, Donovan Mitchell, you need a wing, I'm available. Hey, well, I don't know if Miami's gonna look to do it because they already have Giannis, although he had a good relationship with Pat Riley, if memory serves me correctly. So I could see LeBron to Miami becoming another possible situation. Again, as Pat Riley, who isn't getting any younger, and Spoolstra, who, you know, kind of like LeBron, you know, is maybe towards the end of his time as well, could they say, hey, let's let's bring it back. Let's get the gang together 2.0 in Miami, you know. Bad Boys 4 has returned Bad Boys 2 has returned to theaters in uh in South Beach. Wild. Wild situation. Now the other situation, and where everyone wants to be, as well, around the city, when it comes to basketball, when it comes to the Sixers, it's the biggest what if. And that is, of course, Ben Simmons. Which I'm gonna end this podcast on this conversation right here, and it might not take me that long, but let's just one word, two letters. No. No, no, no. I saw a quote today that he I forget where I saw it, that he said in regards to the game seven, which will forever be known as probably the pass or the pass up, as instead of trying to dunk the ball over the smaller Trey Young, of course, he gave it up to Matisse Thibel. And he gets fouled and goes to the line. And Ben goes, Well, he should have made his free throws. Why didn't he make the damn free throws? Why didn't you make the damn free throws? We know why you passed up the ball was so you wouldn't go to the line to shoot the free throws. Who are you? Who are you to see? This is why he never worked out in the NBA, could never take accountability. All the talent in the world, hundred million dollar talent, five cent head. That's w that's what you say about Ben Simmons and his NBA career. That's how you sum it up. Hundred million dollar talent, five cent head. It's a resounding no for me. It should be a resounding no for my although you know what? They need front court depth, so I guess they could flirt with the idea, but God forbid, you bring him in the way that ended there, with him and Embiid, you know, Maxie was there stuff. I mean, no. And this team does not need that. They are at a huge crossroads in their organization as is, you don't need to bring back that headache. You don't. And let's face it, the downfall of the 76ers, which really I mean, we can talk about this until the cows come home. What was the downfall? But in terms of this embiat era, it started when he passed up that dunk, and then it really kicked into its uh peak when they traded for James Harden instead of a Tyrese Halliburton with Ben Simmons. That's when it started. That was the first big move from Daryl Mori. And it was a disaster, as we come to find out. Because they didn't make the right decision. They just didn't. And we can Monday, and it's obviously easy now to Monday morning quarterback it, but as a GM, you have to foresee that. And he foresaw it wrong. So I just I I think it would be a bad move. I think it would be a horrible move, but there's no need to do this. Everyone was out on him after w when he showed in the twenty nineteen and twenty twenty season. Now granted, they didn't exactly help things with Al Horford and Josh Richardson, but when we all saw the summer of twenty nineteen as to why Jimmy wanted out, we all kind of got the sense of, okay, it's gotta be this guy. Then when he was constantly showing off him shooting three pointers over the summer that year, and then it you know, you thought, oh, he's working on his game and it didn't get any better. Like why? Why are we doing this? Why are we going to now he still has all these, oh, triple, double, this, that, and the third. Again, hundred million dollar talent, five cent head. That is a pure example of situations that the Sixers don't need to get themselves involved in under this new regime. Which, let's face it, it's the Sixers. They probably will. Thanks everyone for tuning in. We'll be back on here throughout free agency. We'll see what the Sixers do as the quote unquote tampering period begins this evening. We'll talk to you later.