Now that the offseason is complete, it’s time to look at the pressing questions facing the Philadelphia 76ers as the season looms closer.
After quite an eventful offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers have once again undergone a roster makeover. After taking two huge midseason swings in 2018-19, cashing in assets for Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, the franchise had to once again make some wholesale changes.
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Butler wanted to take his talents to South Beach, so the Sixers had to extract Josh Richardson from the Heat in a sign-and-trade.
The disparity in salaries between Butler and Richardson gave the team enough cap space to poach Al Horford, the one player who has experience consistently shutting Joel Embiid down.
Harris was retained just below the max, which might look like an over-pay now, but could grow to be justified in value. He’s the type of player you want next to your franchise pillars, as he can operate on or off the ball.
Mike Scott and James Ennis took discounts to stay in Philly, providing a sense of continuity to a bench that was horrid outside of them. Zhaire Smith and Matisse Thybulle both show promise as defensive-minded wings, so long as the rookie curse doesn’t plague the latter player.
Kyle O’Quinn, Raul Neto and Trey Burke took minimum deals to round out the bench. Even Furkan Korkmaz came back, despite wanting a trade less than a year ago.
Overall, the Sixers have one of the more complete rosters in the league, with a heavy focus on defense. One of Embiid or Horford will always be on the court, meaning that the non-Embiid minutes will no longer be atrocious.
Behind these facts, however, a few uncertainties remain.