How The Philadelphia 76ers Are Winning The NBA Free Agency Race
Before anyone goes off on a rant about the moves the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors are making, look around and see what teams have made great under-the-radar moves. This is why the Philadelphia 76ers are a step ahead of the bunch. It’s no secret that LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard were top targets for them. However, even without those star players, the Sixers have done a great job this summer. And, it’s still not over.
The Philadelphia 76ers won 52 games last season with a team many figured would contend for the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference. As good as they were, they managed to win with a rookie PG, a Center who’s really in his second year, a few castaways from other teams and their No.1 draft pick playing only a handful of games. But yet, here they were being considered as one of the favorites to win the East and meet the Warriors in the NBA Finals.
Fast forward to the offseason and what exactly have the Sixers done so they can contend with the moves some of the other teams have accomplished? For starters, the Lakers landed LeBron, Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo, and JaVale McGee. Then you look at the Warriors who landed DeMarcus Cousins and you think–how can the Sixers still be at the top of this list while only snagging Wilson Chandler? It’s rather simple.
What made the Philadelphia 76ers offseason so great was that out of their normal rotation players, they lost only Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova. Yes, both players played an important role in the Sixers run last season but they will not be as missed as some may think. With Belinelli and Ilysova gone, the team landed a good two-way player in Chandler but they also re-signed Amir Johnson and J.J. Redick for cheap. Last season, those two players accounted for $34 million. This season, combined, they will cost the Sixers only $15 million.
While other teams are reaching for the big names, the Sixers took care of their own. It’s one thing to add players to teams, but when you can keep your own to build on chemistry, how good is that? This is what the NBA has lacked over the years. GMs are trying to build these Super Teams to challenge the Cavaliers and Warriors while forgetting the success they had with their original core. Look at the Boston Celtics last season. In 2016, they won the East, made it to the Conference Final then came back with a different lineup in 2017. While they also went back to the CF, they also did it without their two main offseason additions. So, in all fairness, we really don’t know how the new-look Celtics are. There was no Kyrie Irving or Gordan Hayward.
While the Sixers did not get a superstar addition this offseason (so far) they didn’t lose any either. Their core is still there with Embiid, Simmons, Robert Covington, Dario Saric, and they will have their wild card (Markelle Fultz) healthy and ready to go at the start of the 2018-19 season.
Sometimes it’s not about the names you add, but the names you keep and the moves you don’t make. The Philadelphia 76ers took the unconventional route this offseason and did what was needed to be done for the betterment of the team.
[BXReporter]
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
