After sacrificing valuable current and future assets last year, the Philadelphia 76ers hit the reset button mid-season with the addition of Jimmy Butler, and later Tobias Harris, both on expiring contracts.
It was a bold move, one that delivered on Coach Brett Brown’s preseason promise of “star-hunting.” “Run it back” became the mantra going into the off-season, and while reality struck, Elton Brand and his associates made key moves that saved the team’s off-season from disaster.
The first to go was knock-down shooter JJ Redick, who had taken a pay cut with a one year, $12 million deal last summer to extend his tenure in Philadelphia. Playing both of the best years of his career in Philadelphia, Redick entered upon a late-career renaissance of sorts.
His pairing with Joel Embiid made the dribble handoff a key part of Brown’s playbook, and the shooting he brings will surely be missed. Signing a two-year $26.5 million deal with the young and promising Pelicans, Redick should find New Orleans to be a synergistic home with not only an open job on the perimeter, but leadership role ready to be filled.
Elton Brand’s second big move was signing Tobias Harris to a near-max contract of five-years and $180 million. Finishing with 20 points per game and a 39.7 three-point percentage, Harris is primed to become the team’s de-facto shooter. At 26 years old, he still holds potential to improve, as he has year-over-year in each off-season of his eight-year career.
Harris only played a 27 games with the Sixers, and as the team around him has evolved, so too will his role. While still a slight overpay as things stand, the discount will ensure the organization has ample room to fill-out the end of the bench over the course of Harris’s time with the team.
One of such players, Mike Scott, who arrived in Philadelphia on the same plane as Harris, also decided to re-sign on a two-year $9.8 million contract. Scott’s surprisingly tenacious performances on defense in tandem with his tough on and off court antics quickly led to him becoming a folk hero and fan favorite on Broad Street. After playing valuable minutes off of an emaciated bench in the playoffs, $9.8 is a more than fair number for Scott.
The final move was Jimmy Butler’s to make, and much to the chagrin of the city of Philadelphia, they were not the choice. In perhaps the most dramatic change besides Redick’s departure, the Sixers agreed to a sign-and-trade with Miami for Butler which brought the significantly cheaper and younger Josh Richardson in return.
Richardson, who had a silent breakout season last year on a struggling Miami team, has a similar skillset to Butler, with a marginally better three-point shot. He also demands the ball far less than Butler, which may make him a slightly better fit in the company of Ben Simmons.
At 25, Richardson is entering a pivotal period of his career as he plays for a contract in second and third years of his four-year $42 million deal, as he will certainly opt out of the last year.
The sign and trade with Miami was essentially what allowed, or necessitated depending on the way you look at it, what was perhaps the most significant signing of the bunch: former Boston Celtic Al Horford on a hefty four-year $97 million contract.
Horford, who played center in Boston, doesn’t make his fit immediately apparent in the presence of Joel Embiid, however oddly enough, he does spread the floor. Assuming he starts at power forward, Horford’s strong defensive game will make his pairing with Embiid the all-star version of the Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka duo that neutralized Giannis Antetokounmpo, and his three-point shot will keep defenders on notice as he’s a threat from anywhere on the court.
While Horford is 33 years old, his skillset will stand the test of time, barring any injuries. His ability to protect the rim and pull down rebounds while Embiid rests is the piece the Sixers were scrambling for all season, and as that, he should prove useful.
With all of this in mind, the Sixers have aged down considerably and made a push towards longevity. For the next two years at least, the starting line-up is shaping up to Joel Embiid (25) at center, Ben Simmons (22) at point guard, Josh Richardson (25) at shooting guard, Tobias Harris (26) at small forward, and Al Horford (33) at power forward.
Not only did splitting with JJ Redick, 35, and Jimmy Butler, 29, make them younger, but it made them a whole lot bigger as well, as Richardson is now the shortest among them at 6’6”. In terms of defense, there should be little worry with this squad.
Offensively there are still many questions. While Richardson and Horford bring shooting, no one else on the roster is particularly spectacular besides Harris. Also, exactly how many minutes Horford and Embiid will share is unclear, and whether their pairing makes them unwieldy or not.
The Sixers are in for yet another season of unknowns, as they have now undergone their fourth roster makeover in two years. Turning Jimmy Butler’s salary into Josh Richardson and Al Horford was an undeniably shrewd move, one that keeps their championship window open for a few extra years, however, losing Redick will take a significant hit on their playbook. There is significant boom or bust potential with this team, however they still made it out of free agency contenders nonetheless.
