Philadelphia 76ers Are Headed For A Crucial Offseason

As the Philadelphia 76ers head towards another offseason, the story is all too familiar about how their season ends. Despite entering the NBA Playoffs as a seventh seed, expectations were elevated with the late-season return of Joel Embiid.

Embiid missed a large chunk of time this year due to a left knee injury that required surgery. However, his return before the playoffs provided the 76ers with an opportunity to finally reach the Conference Finals in the Embiid era.

The Boston Celtics were the only real powerhouse in the Eastern Conference after a dominant 64-18 season. They were on the other side of the east bracket, meaning Philadelphia wouldn’t have to play them until a potential conference finals matchup.

The Milwaukee Bucks have suffered a turbulent season ever since the switch from Adrian Griffin to Doc Rivers as head coach. They would likely have presented the biggest threat to the 76ers on paper, had it not been for the injury to superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

It felt like the stars may have been aligning for the 76ers to make an impactful run. After all, they were only separated by three wins from their first-round matchup: the New York Knicks. Considering that the Sixers amassed a fair chunk of those wins without Embiid throughout the regular season, one can’t be blamed for thinking Philadelphia was in a prime position to do some damage with their superstar available.

Instead, the Sixers lost in six games to the Knicks. It was another season where the team fell short of making their mark in the postseason.

Unlike previous years, despite their continued playoff failures, this team heads towards an offseason where they can reload and reposition themselves as a true threat for the upcoming year.

Free Agency Frenzy in Philly

The 76ers could be major players in acquiring some of the best talents

The great news for the Sixers this offseason: they are finally about to be set free from the heinous Tobias Harris contract they have been held down by for years.

In a vacuum, Harris is not a bad basketball player. When you factor in that the Sixers gave him a five-year, $180 million contract for his production, the value of who he was as a player did not match that contract figure. That feels especially true when looking at the back end of his contract figures and production.

Paying close to $40 million in the final year of Harris’ contract for a player who produced less than 10 PPG in the postseason certainly limits the ceiling of any team, let alone one with championship aspirations.

With Harris coming off the books this offseason, Philadelphia can go out and acquire a major piece to add to this team. There have already been plenty of links between the Sixers and Paul George. There has even been word that Philadelphia is monitoring what happens to stars who aren’t free agents, like Jimmy Butler and Brandon Ingram.

The key takeaway here is that the 76ers have financial flexibility for the first time in a long time. The Sixers will have over $55 million of projected practical cap space. They’ll have close to $73 million of maximum possible cap space.

If they want to finally break through in the Embiid era, this would be the time to take some risks and do it. Embiid is 30 years old with plenty of mileage on his body from a long list of injuries. It’s fair to wonder how long the championship window around him will remain open.

Bringing Back A Key Piece

The best free agent in this year’s class is arguably their own

As much as the Sixers should be focusing on bringing in new players and adding to the foundation they already have in place, that won’t be the top priority of the offseason. That would be retaining breakout star Tyrese Maxey.

Maxey enjoyed a season in which he won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. It also happened to be the same year he was due for a pay raise. He’s set to hit restricted free agency this offseason.

On top of winning the MIP, Maxey also secured his first All-Star nomination this season. For most of the year, Maxey was tasked with leading this Sixers team in the absence of Embiid. He held the fort down valiantly until the return of his superstar center.

There were even times this postseason when Maxey out-shined his superstar teammate. In a pivotal Game 5 at Madison Square Garden where the Sixers were down 3-1, he scored 46 points, including seven with under 30 seconds to go in regulation to force overtime in a 112-106 win.

One would imagine Philadelphia matches any offer Maxey could potentially get this summer.

All-In Mentality

These next few years will be championship or bust for Philadelphia

Whatever way you slice it, the Sixers are trying to win a championship within the next few seasons. That has been their direction consistently through the prime of Embiid’s playing days.

The Sixers made a great step in the right direction last offseason with the acquisition of championship-winning head coach Nick Nurse. He’s someone who has a proven track record. Nurse is a champion, former coach of the year, a ceiling raiser, and left the Toronto Raptors as the winningest coach in their franchise’s history.

With the best coach that Embiid has ever played under already in place, it’s up to the front office to fill out the championship roster. That is what this year’s offseason will be all about.

On top of looking to land a top star and retaining Maxey, the Sixers will need to figure out which of their current free agents they hold bird rights over are worth a return to the roster. Nicolas Batum and Buddy Hield are both pieces they can bring back pretty easily in that regard.

What happens with players like Kyle Lowry and Kelly Oubre Jr., both of whom they don’t have bird rights over, who were key contributors to their team?

The Sixers could choose to wipe the slate pretty clean with this team for next year. However, the best approach would probably include bringing back some of those pieces.

If the Sixers get eliminated this early from the postseason next year, there may be a completely different conversation being had in Philadelphia in the near future to follow.

Contract figures and cap numbers were courtesy of Spotrac. Stats are courtesy of Basketball Reference.

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