The Philadelphia 76ers went through The Process in order to get one of the most talented players of this current generation, Joel Embiid. He is a force on both ends of the court and puts up near MVP numbers despite having two and three players defending him every possession.
They have also managed to get some really talented players to come to the franchise after The Process to pair alongside Embiid. The problem is that they have a glass ceiling that never allows them to get as far in the postseason as their talent says they should on paper. They even added James Harden this season and could not make a deep playoff run.
Now, they have reportedly put a number of their role players on the trade market in order to get some different talent on the team. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the roster moves which may help them get over that hump.
5 roster moves the Philadelphia 76ers need to make this offseason: 1. Move on from Paul Millsap
While Paul Millsap was a walking mismatch for most of his career, first with the Utah Jazz, the Atlanta Hawks, and then with the Denver Nuggets, he is now 37 years old. Since joining the Brooklyn Nets and then the 76ers, Millsap has struggled.
While he is a well-traveled, experienced veteran, Millsap has never been able to win an NBA championship. If the 76ers want to get the next step they need to find a veteran who can still produce at a decent level and has won the title.
5 roster moves the Philadelphia 76ers need to make this offseason: 2. Pick up Tyrese Maxey’s team option
Tyrese Maxey was one of the few players who benefitted from the Ben Simmons saga, which occurred after the 76ers were eliminated by the Atlanta Hawks. Simmons would not play another game for the 76ers meaning that they needed to find a new starting point guard.
Well, in his sophomore season, Maxey stepped up into that role and did it well. He played 75 games, starting 74 of them. His production increased accordingly, averaging 17.5 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.2 rebounds in 35.3 minutes per game. All of these numbers were more than double that of Maxey’s rookie season.
Not only were his raw numbers improved, but his efficiency was also off the charts in comparison to that of his rookie season. His rookie season slash line was .46/.301/..871, which is respectable. However, last season he has a slash line of .485/.427/.866 which shows a tremendous level of development.
Maxey is only due $2.7 million next season which is going to be crucial for the 76ers. They have $153 million of salary on their books and this gives them very little wiggle room for roster adjustments. They are not going to be able to replace Maxey’s production at that price.
5 roster moves the Philadelphia 76ers need to make this offseason: 3. Trade Danny Green.
Danny Green’s season ended in the playoffs with him being injured again. Last season he was injured during the Eastern Conference semi-final series against the Hawks. This season he injured his ACL in the playoffs and the 76ers lost against the Miami Heat, again, with Green out.
He is tremendously important to the 76ers defense but he is going to miss the entirety of the 2022-23 season. This means that the 76ers will not guarantee his $10 million deal and that means that he has the opportunity to sign with another team and the 76ers will get nothing in return.
The 76ers will most probably trade with a team that has the salary cap space to waive Green and it will not impact their ability to sign players. They will want compensation to do this and therefore, the 76ers will probably have to include a pick in this deal.
With Green being injured this limits the 76ers bargaining power but they want to get something back. There have been reports about the team being interested in Luguentz Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder which gives them the potential to offer a package for the Thunder wing.
5 roster moves the Philadelphia 76ers need to make this offseason: 4. Pick up Matisse Thybulle’s team option
Matisse Thybulle is going to be a contender for Defensive Player of the Year at some point in his career. He has been named to two All-Defensive teams so far in his three-year career. He has the ability to turn a team’s momentum around with two or three defensive plays.
He is limited offensively, but that is not a problem. The Hawks are able to get offense through their stars and some of their role players. Thybulle only needs to cut towards the hoop at the right time and find his spots on the floor and he is being an effective teammate.
He is reportedly one of the players that the 76ers are shopping around the league in an effort to fix parts of their roster. As such, the 76ers should not offer him a rookie extension until they know if he is staying on the roster. If they put too great a price on him, they may not be able to negotiate the best return.
Next season, Thybulle is only due $4.3 million which is such a low number for a player with his defensive prowess. This will allow the 76ers to open discussions with a large number of teams who may not be willing or able to trade for a longer-term contract. If the 76ers are unable to trade him then they can offer Thybulle a rookie extension.
5 roster moves the Philadelphia 76ers need to make this offseason: 5. Renegotiate with James Harden
While Harden was the76ers Simmons’ solution, he may not be the long-term answer for the franchise. Harden has won a lot of individual awards but the ultimate team award, a championship has eluded him for his entire career so far.
He was the team’s second-leading scorer in the 21 games that he played with the franchise last season. Given that the team looked hard to stop when both he and Embiid were on the same page, just imagine what another season of chemistry will mean for this pairing.
There is some talk around that Harden would go for a short-term deal with the 76ers which would be really good for both sides of that contract. Both Harden and the 76ers want a championship but if it does not work out then both parties can move on without having to make an NBA-changing deal, which is what large, long-term deals cause.
Harden is relearning how to play as the second option as he knows that this is Embiid’s team. How he is able to settle into that role will be crucial to the success of the 76ers next season. That, and his ability to shoot the three-ball in the 76ers offense. He only went at 32.6 percent last season, which is not going to cut it for a championship run.