3. Can the 76ers mesh their new parts?
For as much tanking as the Philadelphia 76ers have done this decade, they sure know how to do a complete 180 in going from the bottom of the East to a team hoping to compete for a championship this year.
Philly has made two blockbuster deals this season, acquiring Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, fortifying one of the most talented starting units in all the NBA. Now comes the tricky part of integrating all these new faces in order to make sure this team is playing its best basketball when it matters most.
The pieces are talented, sure, but the fit is an interesting study, seeing as how four of the five starters are better off with the ball in their hands and the issue of floor-spacing is still very much prevalent with the inconsistent strokes of both Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler, as well as the non-existent outside shooting ability from Ben Simmons.
Some may be there to question the price it took to acquire these two stars for Philly, but the NBA is a league where the most talented teams usually wind up with the title at the end of the season. In making these deals, general manager Elton Brand is banking on the idea that in crunch-time, his team will have a sizable talent gap at nearly every position.
With these trades, the Sixers certainly didn’t get worse, but after making it to the second round of the postseason last year, expectations are high in the city of Philadelphia. If they want to live up to those lofty goals, they’ll have to make some serious sacrifices in order to make this thing work.