RSS 76ers Team Notes

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Why the Sixers haven’t spent their taxpayer mid-level exception yet

We’re less than four weeks away from the start of training camp, yet the Sixers still have two open roster spots. One of those is reserved for Quentin Grimes, who remains in a restricted-free-agency standoff much like Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey and Cam Thomas. The other might not get filled at all before the season starts.

On Thursday, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line said new Brooklyn Nets forward Haywood Highsmith could be on the move again between now and the Feb. 5 trade deadline. In the original version of his article, he noted that since Highsmith is earning only $5.6 million, a team could absorb him using its mid-level exception—either the $5.7 million taxpayer MLE or the $14.1 million non-taxpayer MLE—without having to send salary back to Brooklyn.

“A team like the 76ers, for example, that has planned to take its taxpayer mid-level into the season rather than spending it this summer can use the exception during the season to absorb the salary of a player like Highsmith via trade without having to send any salary the other way,” Fischer wrote.

Curiously, that line is no longer in the latest version of his article. Perhaps the Sixers let him know that they’re still open to spending the MLE this summer once they re-sign Grimes? Either way, they must resolve the Grimes situation first before they even consider using it.

If a team uses the non-taxpayer MLE, it becomes hard-capped at the first apron ($195.9 million this season). If a team uses the taxpayer MLE, it becomes hard-capped at the second apron ($207.8 million). With 13 players on standard contracts, the Sixers are currently $10.05 million under the first apron and $21.9 million under the second apron. If they spent the full $5.7 million taxpayer MLE, that would leave them only $16.2 million below the second apron.

At the moment, the Nets are the only team that could offer Grimes more than the non-taxpayer MLE. As long as they weren’t interested in signing Grimes, the Sixers theoretically have enough flexibility under the second apron to spend the taxpayer MLE and still re-sign Grimes. However, they’d leave the door open for the Nets to come over the top with an offer sheet that they couldn’t match unless they dumped salary elsewhere.

Besides, the free-agent market has largely dried up at this point of the offseason. Outside of Kuminga, Giddey and Thomas—none of whom the Sixers could pry away with only the taxpayer MLE—many of the best options have been heavily linked to the Warriors in recent weeks. Once the Warriors resolve Kuminga’s restricted free agency, they’re reportedly poised to sign some combination of Al Horford, Malcolm Brogdon, De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II and Seth Curry.

Malik Beasley is by far the best remaining unrestricted free agent, although off-court issues have complicated his standing at the moment. Although ESPN’s Shams Charania recently reported that Beasley “is no longer a target of the federal gambling investigation conducted by the Eastern District of New York,” Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports reported he’s “still considered a ‘subject’ of the investigation” and could still be charged with a crime and/or punished by the NBA. While Beasley would be a great value at the $5.7 million taxpayer MLE, another guard is the last thing that the Sixers need, especially if they re-sign Grimes.

Outside of Beasley, the pickings are relatively slim. Trey Lyles, Precious Achiuwa and Russell Westbrook are among the best remaining options, although at this point in the offseason, none of them would likely command more than a minimum deal.

Team president Daryl Morey has long preferred to keep one roster spot open heading into the season to preserve flexibility for in-season moves. That could allow the Sixers to swing a 2-for-1 or 3-for-2 deal without having to shed a contract elsewhere, or they’d have an open roster spot to convert Dominick Barlow or Jabari Walker from a two-way deal to a standard contract. And as Fischer noted, the league’s latest collective bargaining agreement now allows teams to use MLEs as trade exceptions.

However, unused MLEs do begin to prorate downward on Jan. 10 each season. From that date forward, the taxpayer MLE will reduce in value by $32,672 each day. So, while Highsmith would fit into the taxpayer MLE for now, his $5,616,000 salary would be too large for the prorated taxpayer MLE by Jan. 13. If the Sixers hold on to their taxpayer MLE until the day of the trade deadline (Feb. 5), it will shed roughly $880,000 in value by then.

The Sixers could still use their taxpayer MLE to sign a free agent in-season as well. However, if they cross the first apron once they re-sign Grimes, they won’t be allowed to sign any player on the buyout market who was previously earning more than the non-taxpayer MLE. They could also face plenty of competition on the trade and free-agent market with their exception, as a number of other teams have yet to touch theirs as well.

So, don’t be surprised if the Sixers eventually sign Grimes and then call it a summer, leaving one roster spot open heading into the season. The real question is whether they’ll actually spend their MLE at some point during the year. Allowing it to expire would be another wasted asset, but if Paul George and Joel Embiid are in and out of the lineup again all year, the Sixers likely won’t have much of an appetite to add to their luxury-tax bill.

Fret not, though. I’m prepared to roast their asses if (when?) that happens.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Salary Swish and salary-cap information via RealGM.

Follow Bryan on Bluesky.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...exception-2025-nba-free-agency-quentin-grimes

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Sixers’ home officially renamed Xfinity Mobile Arena

The Philadelphia 76ers’ home arena is now officially operating under its new name, Xfinity Mobile Arena.

On Tuesday morning, Comcast unveiled new signage on the outside of the arena formerly known as the Wells Fargo Center—or the Wachovia Center, even—with the help of Gritty and Franklin. The arena is the home of the Sixers, the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) and the Philadelphia Wings (NLL). This is the building’s fifth name since opening in 1996 (as the CoreStates Center).

Jared McCain, VJ Edgecombe, Sean Couturier and Travis Sanheim are here for Xfinity Mobile Arena’s signage reveal

(via @GraceDelPizzo) pic.twitter.com/ixVZI1UGzG

— On Pattison (@OnPattison) September 2, 2025

In attendance representing the Sixers were Jared McCain and 2025 No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe. They were joined by Flyers players Sean Couturier and Travis Sanheim at the unveiling event.

In reality, this likely won’t mean too much to the average fan—just something for us to remember every time we write an article here… and I’d be willing to bet a “Wells Fargo Center” will slip through the cracks at some point.

However, an interesting tidbit that may actually affect a fan’s experience at the arena comes in the form of an internet upgrade. The WiFi within any sports arena is often spotty at best, and the Center was no exception. The “new” Xfinity Mobile Arena, though, boasts “a WiFi network upgrade so intelligent its blazing-fast speeds are 10x faster”. I’ll believe it when I see it work with an arena full of fans, but that is a change I’d welcome with open arms.

The Sixers will take the court at Xfinity Mobile Arena for the first time on Oct. 10 for a preseason game. Their regular season home opener is set for Oct. 25 when they will host the Charlotte Hornets.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...s-arena-xfinity-mobile-renamed-comcast-flyers

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

If this report about Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers is true …

The Philadelphia 76ers are no strangers to NBA investigations. In recent years, they’ve faced scrutiny over James Harden’s contract situation, tampering allegations involving P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, and even Joel Embiid’s violation of the player participation policy, to name a few. None of those cases, however, come close to the potential fallout the LA Clippers could face if the latest report proves accurate.

On Tuesday, Pablo Torre dropped a new episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out, revealing details of a possible secret $28 million contract between the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard — completely off the team’s salary cap books. And the details are pretty wild.

I encourage you all to check out the full episode for all the insane details, but I’ll highlight the basics you need to know.

Torre’s investigation centers on a tree-planting green bank and brokerage called Aspiration, which claimed to “clear conscience and emissions.” On the surface, it looked like a feel-good cause, backed by high-profile investors such as Robert Downey Jr., Drake, Leonardo DiCaprio, and even Philadelphia fan favorite Doc Rivers. The company went on to raise an impressive $865 million and, by 2021, was valued at $2.3 billion with ambitions of going public.

But cracks soon began to show, and it became clear that things were not all sunny and green at Aspiration. In March 2025, Joseph Sanberg, the co-founder of Aspiration Partners, was arrested for conspiring to defraud an investment fund of at least $145 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Just weeks after his arrest, Aspiration filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

As with any bankruptcy filing, especially one of this scale, there is a mountain of paperwork involved. Among those filings was a detailed list of investors and creditors still owed money. Keep in mind, this document had never been made public until now. The list includes Steve Ballmer’s LA Clippers, along with KL2 Aspire LLC, a company to which Aspiration reportedly owes $7 million.

Torre also examined the public filings KL2 Aspire LLC submitted with California’s Secretary of State, which listed the manager or member as… you guessed it, Kawhi Leonard. As mentioned earlier, Aspiration heavily promoted its star-studded backers, even featuring some in advertisements. However, Leonard was completely absent from all marketing materials — there was no mention or reference to him anywhere.

Torre then reached out to dozens of former Aspiration employees seeking information about KL2 Aspire LLC. He eventually spoke with seven former employees who agreed to be interviewed, providing him with exclusive details about Leonard’s endorsement deal. The agreement, effective April 1, 2022, confirms that KL2 Aspire is indeed tied to Leonard. According to the contract, the company “desires that KL2 cause Leonard to provide the services necessary to promote and market the company as more particularly set forth” in the agreement. Under its terms, Aspiration would pay KL2 $28 million, spread across several installments or quarters.

Torre eventually convinced a key former employee from Aspiration’s finance department to go on record, provided their voice was altered for anonymity. The anonymous source stated that they were told, “These are major contracts and major players you need to be aware of,” and that the company had a “$28 million organic marketing sponsorship with Kawhi.” When asked about the deal, the source explained that it was essentially designed to “circumvent the [NBA’s] salary cap.” They also noted that Leonard’s agreement was the single largest sponsorship deal Aspiration had ever made, saying that “it completely eclipsed every other agreement.” According to the source, even if you combined every other celebrity endorsement — including those of Robert Downey Jr., Drake, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Doc Rivers — they would not have amounted to even a quarter of Kawhi Leonard’s deal.

Torre reached out to all parties involved for comment, including Leonard’s personal team. Leonard’s team did not meet Torre’s deadline, but the Clippers responded, stating: “Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false.”

Finally, the former Aspiration employee confirmed that Leonard’s agreement essentially allowed him to get paid without contractually having to do anything — and, in fact, he didn’t. The agreement stated basic asks that Leonard was expected to be available and participate in five organic comments, likes, or retweets as requested. True to Aspiration’s mission statement, Leonard participated in absolutely zero of these requirements.

Putting it in basic terms: he got paid $28 million for a no-show job.

Torre highlights even more details in his investigation, and I highly encourage everyone to check it out — it’s excellent journalism and impressive investigative work.

But what does this mean for the Clippers moving forward? For Kawhi Leonard? Or for the draft pick and swap currently held by your Philadelphia 76ers?

For the Clippers, this will likely trigger a full-fledged investigation by the NBA. The last time a team circumvented the salary cap was with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2000, involving Joe Smith. David Stern, the NBA commissioner at the time, did not go lightly on the punishment: the team received a $3.5 million fine, had two contracts voided, and was stripped of five draft picks (two were later returned, but the penalties still hampered the team for nearly a decade).

For Leonard, there is a real possibility that his contract with the team could be voided. The NBA faces a difficult path ahead, as it will need to set a strong and clear precedent to prevent similar situations in the future. If the league issues only a slap on the wrist, it won’t deter other teams from attempting similar maneuvers.

As many of you know, the Sixers currently hold two assets from the LA Clippers: an unprotected 2028 draft pick and a future pick swap. In all previous investigations involving stripped draft picks, the NBA has never targeted assets owned by a different team. If any picks are stripped in this case, it will likely involve picks currently held by the Clippers or their future draft capital.

If Leonard’s contract is voided, it would certainly hurt the Clippers in the short term. While they have a deep roster, a relatively healthy Leonard is a game-changer in the highly competitive Western Conference. Without him, the team would likely be a play-in contender at best. Long-term, if draft capital is stripped, it would drastically reduce their chances of maintaining a competitive team. Many had pegged the Clippers as a potential destination for future stars, but without draft assets, they may be left hoping for a long shot — such as Giannis Antetokounmpo reaching free agency.

In short, this is a serious story with significant allegations that the NBA will need to examine in the near future. The ramifications could reshape the league landscape and potentially affect assets held by the Sixers in a positive way.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/nba-...ers-contract-steve-ballmer-nba-cba-salary-cap

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Kate Scott to call Vikings-Steelers game for Westwood One

The first game of the 2025-26 NBA regular season for the Philadelphia 76ers is on October 22 in Boston, while the initial preseason contest falls on October 2 in Abu Dhabi against the Knicks. Until then, how is Kate Scott, the Sixers play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports Philadelphia, supposed to keep busy? How about making some history by becoming the first female play-by-play announcer to call an NFL game for Westwood One, the league’s official audio broadcast partner.

Sports broadcaster Kate Scott has been assigned to call Vikings-Steelers on Sept. 28 for Westwood One, the official network audio broadcast partner of the NFL.

She will become the first female play-by-play announcer to call an NFL regular-season game on the network.

Read more:… pic.twitter.com/JxKNTVy3eY

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 3, 2025

Here’s a bit more information about the Vikings-Steelers game broadcast from the article on The Athletic:

“According to Westwood One Sports vice president and executive producer Mike Eaby, Scott will break a sports broadcast barrier as the first female play-by-play announcer to call an NFL regular-season game for Westwood One. She will be partnered with former Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph. The Steelers-Vikings will be held at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, as part of the NFL’s international series. (The game will broadcast exclusively on NFL Network with Joe Davis, Greg Olsen, Pam Oliver and Jamie Erdahl as far as the TV side.)”

Scott has previously done NFL work as part of the preseason broadcast team for the Seattle Seahawks, while previously having done radio work covering San Francisco 49ers games. She is also part of one of the commentary team options for the Madden NFL 25 video game. Additionally, Scott has extensive experience calling Pac-12 football games and doing College Football Saturday Night alongside Mike Golic.

The Philadelphia Eagles play later in the day on September 28 against Tampa Bay. But if you’re tuning in earlier that morning for some Vikings-Steelers action, maybe turn on the Westwood One broadcast to hear a familiar voice. Congrats to Kate on making another bit of sports broadcast history.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...o-call-vikings-steelers-game-for-westwood-one

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Can Hunter Sallis overcome his rough Summer League?

It may not feel like it, with restricted free agency far from wrapped up, but the NBA season is right around the corner. The preseason will kick off soon, with media day and training camp later this month. It’s time for a preview of the Sixers’ roster as they are (mostly) ready to start the season.

While the main roster is still awaiting a resolution with Quentin Grimes to be finalized, the Sixers have had all three of their two-way contracts sorted out since Summer League. The Sixers have gone a bit older in filling those spots — all three players are currently at least 22 years old. Despite that, Philadelphia will hope to be less reliant on their new two-way guard than last season, when Jeff Dowtin Jr. literally ran out of available NBA games to play due to how thin the roster got.

The Sixers are currently using just one of those slots on a rookie in Hunter Sallis, an undrafted guard from Wake Forest. A four-year college player, Sallis is a 6-foot-5 guard with a 6’9.75” wingspan. He spent the first two years of his collegiate career at Gonzaga before transferring ahead of his junior year. After coming off the bench with the Bulldogs, he would start his final two seasons, where he averaged 18.1 points per game along with 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals. He shot 47.9% from the field in college, but his three-point splits are where things get interesting.

Sallis made 40.5% from deep in his first year at Wake Forest, but dropped down to 27.7% his senior year — despite being a high volume shooter as a starter, averaging 5.2 threes a game at Wake Forest. His junior year was the only time he made over 30% of his threes, let alone 40.

There were plenty of opportunities for Sallis to showcase himself with the Sixers in summer league, especially after VJ Edgecombe missed most of it with an injury. He didn’t exactly take advantage though. Over seven games he averaged 6.1 points per game on shooting splits of just 28%/12.5%/76.5%. He had a fair amount of ball-handling responsibilities but struggled to take care of it, averaging 1.9 turnovers to 1.7 assists.

It’s not atypical for a rookie guard to struggle in the unstructured environment that is summer league. It’s also not uncommon for the Sixers to use up one of their two-way spots on a player that’s viewed as a project. Terquavion Smith and Julian Champagnie come to mind. A 22-year-old with four years of college experience doesn’t exactly fit that bill though. While he had one excellent year on high volume, his track record as a shooter isn’t the most reassuring.

For once, he is entering a Sixers team that might be alright on spacing. If the team is revolving around the backcourt of Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, Edgecombe and presumably Grimes, being a shooter doesn’t necessarily have to be a prerequisite. Joel Embiid is still on this team though, and the spacing in the front court gets very shaky after Paul George.

Regardless of those bigger roster concerns, Sallis’ fate is almost certainly destined for the Delaware Blue Coats. Should he make it through training camp, the Sixers will definitely want to see if a more structured environment can bring out the scorer he was in college. Presumably, he’ll be given a lot of chances to initiate offense. Perhaps he won’t need to hit as many outside shots, but that could go either way.

The Sixers haven’t really had any success with their “project” two-ways in the Daryl Morey era. Smith for example, is already playing oversees. Champagnie did not see much professional success until he found his way to the San Antonio Spurs. Even Ricky Council IV, who was able to give some contributions for the Sixers in 2023-24, was waived by the team this offseason. Perhaps Sallis can buck that trend, but his first impression at the professional level was not the most encouraging.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...ews-hunter-sallis-two-way-wake-forest-gonzaga

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Report: As Cam Thomas agrees to qualifying offer, what can we expect for Quentin Grimes?

One more restricted free agent is finally off the market. ESPN’s Shams Charania has reported that Cam Thomas is signing the one-year, $6 million qualifying offer to stay with the Nets.

Restricted free agent Cam Thomas is signing a one-year, $6 million qualifying offer to return to the Brooklyn Nets, sources tell ESPN. Sides were unable to reach a new deal so the QO gives Thomas a full no-trade clause and 2026 unrestricted free agency with 10+ cap space teams. pic.twitter.com/GJCp29rCp1

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 4, 2025

A salary of $6 million is clearly low following the season Thomas just had. He may not be the most well-rounded two-way guard, but he’s an impactful player who can deliver on fairly high usage. He put up 24.0 points per game with a very solid 57.5 true shooting percentage last season, while also launching 7.8 threes a game (made at a 34.9 percent clip). Doing that on a team without much offensive help while facing a lot of attention from opposing defenses? Thomas had a pretty good career year.

As Charania explained in a full story on Thomas’s deal, some larger offers were on the table. Various contract possibilities were discussed, but in the end Thomas declined the following offers:

• Two years, $30 million with a team option for the second season
• One year, $9.5 million with incentives up to $11 million, without the no-trade clause

It’s a bit surprising Thomas had an option to potentially make $5 million more next season and turned it down. With his qualifying offer, though, he gets that no-trade clause, so he guarantees that he stays put in Brooklyn where he can keep raising his value as the team’s top option, and only has to stay for one year before testing free agency again in 2026 to pursue a bigger pay day. Out of all the restricted free agents left, this probably made more sense for Thomas than anyone else.

Now, there are just three restricted free agents remaining: Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, and the Sixers’ own Quentin Grimes.

The reported potential offers coming Grimes’ way have varied over the course of the offseason, but figures have often ranged as high as $15 million to $20 million per year. With that in mind, it would still be far more surprising to see Grimes accept a deal as low as the qualifying offer — which for him would be a one-year, $8.7 million contract. And with the Sixers ideally being healthier next season, and having more guard competition around when Jared McCain returns and new rookie VJ Edgecombe, Grimes isn’t always going to get the kind of touches he had to close last season on such a tear. That doesn’t bode as well for him raising his value if he wants to find a bigger contract elsewhere. Cashing in with more than the qualifying offer obviously makes sense.

Nevertheless, with such little money available around the league and the Sixers not exactly having any bidding partners, those lofty annual salary figures could still drop. This is why we did hear reports last month that there has been some “buzz” that Grimes could accept the qualifying offer himself.

For now, though, the wait continues to see how much Grimes actually lands in his inevitable return to Philadelphia.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/nba-...ts-quentin-grimes-sixers-contract-free-agency

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Report: Ben Simmons ‘questioning whether he even wants to continue playing in the NBA next season’

The overall trajectory of Ben Simmons’ professional playing career is going to make for an interesting documentary one day. Philadelphia’s first overall pick in 2016 made an All-NBA team in 2020 and his third All-Star team in 2021. Then, he infamously passed up a wide-open dunk in the 2021 playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks, with the Sixers going on to lose the game and the series. Simmons would sit out the next season with a back injury, and transitioned to life as a role player across the last three seasons in Brooklyn and Los Angeles with the Clippers.

A role player may not be what Simmons wants to be anymore. Per reporting by Stefan Bondy, who covers the New York Knicks for the New York Post, Simmons may not even want to play in the NBA next season. From the article:

“Ben Simmons has generated interest from the Knicks and another team but is also questioning whether he even wants to continue playing in the NBA next season, The Post has learned.

The former All-Star and Rookie of the Year, who has struggled recently with injuries and handling the public pressures of the league, is an option for the Knicks because of his upside as an elite defender and athlete to fill their backup point guard spot, a league source said.

However, Simmons, who has accumulated DNPs the past few seasons, and over $200 million in career earnings, is sending a message that he isn’t sure “if he wants to continue,” another source added.“

It may seem crazy to us for a 29-year-old like Simmons to pass up on the prospect of a $3.6 million veteran’s minimum salary. But as Bondy notes, Simmons has made a ton of money already playing in the NBA, not to mention endorsement deals. If he has had a competent financial planner, he’s already set for life and will make much more than that $3 million or so already each year by way of interest and capital gains. If he doesn’t want to spend his entire life practicing and playing basketball, then he really doesn’t need to do so.

To me, Ben never came across as a ‘Ball is Life’ kind of guy, but more like the sort of person who was very talented at something so he followed that path to achieve the corresponding fame and riches (not calling him out for that, it’s a completely reasonable thing that nearly any of us would do if given the chance). Plus, back issues are no picnic, and maybe playing through any pain or discomfort in that area isn’t worth it. If it actually comes to pass that Simmons doesn’t play another NBA game, I won’t be completely surprised. I will be watching the documentary someday though.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/nba-...ts-to-continue-playing-in-the-nba-next-season

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Will a homecoming be Dominick Barlow’s chance to stick in the NBA?

Dominick Barlow was not originally on a summer league roster when the Sixers began play in Salt Lake City. The Sixers went into the session by adding undrafted rookie Hunter Sallis to a two-way spot, but had the other two occupied by players who finished out the previous season in Jalen Hood-Schifino and Alex Reese. That changed just ahead of the Vegas games as Reese was waived, Jabari Walker was signed and the Sixers used their final spot to bring in Barlow.

Another player that went undrafted, Barlow, who originally went to high school at St. Joseph’s Prep, spent his first two seasons in the league going up and down between the San Antonio Spurs main roster and G-League team. He appeared in 65 NBA games over those two seasons before signing a two-way with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2024 offseason. In 35 games with the Hawks, he averaged 4.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.5 blocks per game and was converted to a standard contract for the rest of the season in March. Atlanta waived the unguaranteed portion of his contract for this season.

He only appeared in two games for the Sixers in summer league, but shot 60% from the field in both of those games. He dropped 19 points along with nine rebounds and three steals in his debut. He followed it up with eight points and five boards the next game in just under 14 minutes of action.

As a 6-foot-9 forward, Barlow profiles as a jack-of-all trades while being a master of none. His sturdy frame gives him the ability to be a strong defender and rebounder in the post. Over the course of his career, he’s averaged nine rebounds and 1.5 blocks per 36 minutes. Shooting has never been his forte. He’s been a 25% three-point shooter in the NBA, never averaging more than 0.8 attempts in a season. There isn’t much hope for a ton of improvement there as he’s a career 68% free throw shooter. Last season with the Hawks, he shot just 63.6% from the line.

Between his height and shooting limitations, Barlow has all the makings of what people in baseball call a “four-A” player. He might be skilled enough to the point where he can dominate the G-League, but doesn’t quite possess enough to be useful at the next level for an extended period of time.

That’s not the worst thing to have on a two-way contract though. Players that fit that bill are certainly helpful for a game or two in a pinch. Last season, the Sixers needed those guys for more than just a pinch. Justin Edwards, Jeff Dowtin Jr. and Jared Butler all started multiple games, with Dowtin even running out of available two-way dates in the NBA before the season ended.

If the Sixers are that reliant on their two-ways for minutes again, they’ll be in another battle in the lottery to retain their first round pick, this year top-4 protected until it goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder. If they need someone to play some spot minutes in the front court for a night or two — a guy that can just grab a few rebounds and play solid defense — Barlow might be able to give that to them. While he might not help space the floor a ton, that doesn’t mean he’d be a total nothing on offense in those situations. In summer league he showed some ability to get himself open through rolls or flashing into the dunker spot.

While this two-way spot likely isn’t being used on some gem hiding in plain sight, it is being given to a player who’s shown some ability to hang at the NBA level before. Who knows, if everything goes wrong again, he could get an extended opportunity.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...arlow-sixers-two-way-spurs-hawks-st-joes-prep

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

If this is the end for Ben Simmons, he’ll continue to leave us wanting more

The 2016 Sixers draft party was the last one they’d host at PCOM, which felt more like a grade school gym than an NBA establishment. While their state-of-the-art practice facility across the river in Camden was still being built, a player the franchise believed would be a cornerstone of The Process was about to be selected first overall.

There was no suspense there. Ben Simmons had been the consensus No. 1 pick throughout his one-and-done season at LSU. Sure, guys like Brandon Ingram and Jaylen Brown worked out for the Sixers, but they didn’t get a public photo op with the team’s true foundational piece, Joel Embiid. With those two in the fold, it felt like — after the losing and league-staged coup — things were beginning to come together.

Simmons was billed as the next Magic Johnson — a jumbo-sized playmaker who tantalizes in the open court and plays an unselfish brand of basketball. We saw glimpses of it, but unlike Johnson, Simmons always left fans wanting more.

Sadly, if he decides to step away from the NBA before his 30th birthday, that will likely be his lasting legacy. Despite a Rookie of the Year award, three All-Star appearances, two All-Defensive Team selections and an All-NBA nod, it will always feel like Simmons could’ve been so much more.

With how spectacularly Simmons flamed out in Philly, people seem to lose sight of how spectacular he was as a rookie. He averaged nearly a triple-double (15.8 points, 8.2 assists, 8.1 rebounds) for a team that won 52 games, captured the East’s third seed and won a playoff series. Embiid was beginning to scratch his MVP-level surface, but as you’ll recall, an orbital bone fracture after a collision with rookie Markelle Fultz cost the big man the final eight games of the regular season.

Prior to Embiid’s injury, the Sixers had won eight straight games. There was concern his absence would stall the team’s attempt to climb the East standings. At just 21 years old, in his first NBA season, Simmons rose to the occasion. Over the next seven games (he barely played in the season finale, a blowout win over the Milwaukee Bucks), he averaged 17.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 9.6 assists. The buyout additions of Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli, along with JJ Redick and Robert Covington, provided Simmons with the ideal procession of shooters. The team closed the regular season on a ridiculous 16-game winning streak.

Though Simmons’ postseason output was marred by a one-point Game 2 performance in Boston in the second round, he was mostly really good during that playoff run. Despite that forgettable outing, Simmons averaged 16.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists during the 2018 postseason. It’s not hyperbolic to say the Sixers don’t beat the Miami Heat in the first round without Simmons, considering Embiid missed the first two games and was still rounding into form when he returned.

The next season saw the acquisition of Jimmy Butler. If folks were still considering it The Process at that point, it was over in that moment. The team acquired a star player to support their budding young superstars in the hopes of winning a championship. While Embiid and Butler famously became close, it was actually Simmons who initially formed a bond with the mercurial forward. Who could forget the “headband brothers”? Tobias Harris came on board a couple months later. The expectations were sky high.

While Simmons took a massive leap defensively during that postseason — Brett Brown made the decision to put Simmons on Kawhi Leonard, which helped stymie the superstar (save for … you know) — his struggles in halfcourt offense were exacerbated by Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors defense. Brown also made the decision to shift Simmons off the ball and give the keys to the offense to Butler. That was sort of the beginning of the end for Simmons here.

While 2019-20 was a lost season for the Sixers in a bunch of ways — not the least of which was letting Butler walk and signing veteran big man Al Horford — it was likely Simmons’ best pro season. He made his second All-Star team, made the All-NBA Third Team, All-Defensive First Team and finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. While he suffered his first documented back injury in February — after arguably the best combined game for Simmons and Embiid ever against the LA Clippers — the pandemic gave Simmons time to get healthy and be ready for the NBA bubble.

There was a considerable amount of optimism around Simmons heading into Orlando. Not only was Simmons playing the best basketball of his career, but Brown also made the decision to remove Horford from the starting lineup and make Shake Milton the team’s de facto point guard. In the first exhibition games the Sixers played in Disney, Simmons even took (and made) some threes. Unfortunately, a knee injury in the third regular-season game down there cost Simmons the rest of the season. The Sixers stood no chance against the Celtics and were swept in the first round.

There was renewed optimism for the 2020-21 season. Brown was out and Doc Rivers took over as head coach. Not long after, the team tapped Daryl Morey to run the front office. Morey quickly went to work fixing the previous regime’s mistakes. On the night of the 2020 NBA Draft, Morey selected Tyrese Maxey, Isaiah Joe and Paul Reed. He also swung two trades to shed Horford’s contract and Josh Richardson, acquiring Seth Curry and Danny Green to provide Embiid and Simmons optimum spacing.

While the team had a tremendous amount of success on the court, a rift began between Simmons and Morey just a couple months into the season. With the Rockets putting superstar guard James Harden on the trade block, Morey unsurprisingly pursued a deal for the player he enjoyed so much success with in Houston. The main return for the Rockets would have included Simmons — both financially and from a basketball standpoint. Ultimately, The Beard wound up in Brooklyn, but the damage had been done. Simmons was prepared to be a Rocket, to the extent he reportedly began house shopping in Houston.

Simmons’ displeasure reflected in his play as he put up career-worst numbers across the board. The back issues that plagued him the year prior also returned. Despite that, the Sixers had success as a team and captured the East’s No. 1 seed, mostly thanks to an MVP-caliber season from Embiid. Simmons then had a weird, up-and-down playoff run, which culminated in the lasting image most Sixers have of him — The Pass.

If you’re reading this, it’s likely seared into your memory.

Rivers and Embiid were too forthright in their response to Simmons’ postseason struggles for the point guard’s liking. Then the ensuing holdout and trade to the Nets ended things. It’s hard to believe how fast it all went by. After a mostly disastrous stint with the Nets, Simmons played 18 games for the LA Clippers after being bought out last season. He played sparingly and was a non-factor as the Clippers fell to the Denver Nuggets in seven games in the first round.

You can see the physical toll the back surgeries have taken. Simmons is nowhere near the athlete he once was. Since he didn’t do much to improve the other aspects of his game, here we are.

So, was Simmons misunderstood or immature? Maybe both.

There had always been a vibe that Embiid and Simmons basically got to do whatever they wanted. Simmons had this weird habit of wanting to leave the arena as fast as possible after every game. There was even a game where Simmons beat Brown to the podium — never seen a player address the media first before or after that. He was generally curt with the press, though some of the incessant shooting questions were a bit much (especially when Simmons was playing extremely well otherwise). Overall, he was just sort of a weird cat.

And of course, the relationship with Embiid was never perfect, but got downright bitter at the end. We’ll always have that one All-Star Weekend in 2020.

You love to see it pic.twitter.com/zk0Mi6DaIU

— Nick McKain (@nwmckain) February 17, 2020

The peaks and valleys were wild. He’d turn in some of the most impressive two-way performances you’ve ever seen, but then simply disappear in other games, especially in the playoffs. Looking back now, it just feels sad. After years of mediocrity and the struggles of The Process, Simmons provided hope. It’s hard to remember that now, but it was there. Full transparency, there was a night or two when I pondered if it would be Simmons who would eventually become an MVP candidate.

Alas.

Why didn’t it work out? Physical health? Mental health? Did Simmons simply not love the game?

We might never know, which feels fitting for Ben Simmons — a player who often scratched the surface but never hit his ceiling.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...sixers-nets-clippers-agent-retire-joel-embiid

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Do the Sixers have the worst salary-cap situation in the NBA?

The Sixers entered last offseason with more than $60 million in cap space. One year later, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report believes they might have the NBA’s worst salary-cap situation.

“Unfortunately, the investment in Paul George looks to be a significant miscalculation,” Pincus wrote. “George’s game has declined due to injury; Joel Embiid’s health is a significant question mark. Very quickly, the franchise became over-leveraged with a mediocre roster.”

Pincus put the Sixers just ahead of the Orlando Magic, who will soon find themselves in second-apron hell after maxing out Paolo Banchero and trading for Desmond Bane this offseason, and the Phoenix Suns, who will be paying Bradley Beal nearly $20 million annually for the next half-decade not to play basketball for them. The Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets rounded out the top five, while the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks made the list as well.

The Sixers have yet to resolve Quentin Grimes’ restricted free agency, so it’s impossible to render final judgment on where they rank relative to the rest of the league. If they wind up landing Grimes on a team-friendly steal of a deal, that could help ease the pain of the Embiid and George contracts.

But since it’s early September and we have nothing better to do—other than watch the Eagles lay waste to the Micah Parsons-less Dallas Cowboys, that is—let’s break down the argument on either side before issuing a verdict.

The case for it​

I mean… did you watch last season?

George scuffled through 41 injury-ravaged games and then suffered a knee injury this offseason that required him to undergo an arthroscopic procedure. Embiid played only 19 games amidst his recovery from the meniscus injury that prematurely ended his 2023-24 campaign, and it remains unclear whether he’ll be cleared for training camp in a few weeks.

The Sixers are spending nearly $107 million combined on Embiid and George this season. That’s almost 70 percent of this year’s $154.7 million salary cap. If those two can’t get and stay healthy, it won’t matter how promising the Sixers’ young backcourt is.

The Magic and Cavaliers will face tough financial decisions in the next few years that will likely require them to jettison key members of their rotation, much like the Celtics have been doing this offseason. The difference between them and the Sixers is that their core rotation players still have positive trade value. If the Magic eventually have to part ways with Franz Wagner or Jalen Suggs, they should get a haul for either one. The same goes for the Cavaliers with Jarrett Allen or Darius Garland. Meanwhile, the Sixers might have to attach additional assets just to offload the contracts of Embiid and/or George.

That’s among the reasons why the 2025-26 season may be a make-or-break campaign for the Sixers. If Embiid and/or George have a bounce-back year and avoid any catastrophic ailments, the Sixers’ future could start looking brighter. But if last year was a sign of things to come for them, the Sixers might be stuck with those contracts for the next few years.

The case against it​

With 13 players on standard contracts, the Sixers currently have roughly $185.9 million in salary on their books. That leaves them $10.05 million below the first apron and $21.9 million below the second apron. Grimes eventually figures to gobble up a majority of that breathing room under the second apron, although the Sixers will likely try to preserve enough flexibility to maintain access to the $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception.

Unless some team signs Grimes to a larger-than-expected offer sheet out of nowhere—which likely would have happened by this point in the offseason—the Sixers should not be in real danger of crossing the second apron this year. The Cavaliers are the only team above it for now, but that likely won’t be the case in 2026-27.

Since the Sixers have already signed Embiid, George and Tyrese Maxey to max deals, they don’t have any major contract decisions on the immediate horizon. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond are set to become unrestricted free agents next year, but it’s not as though the Sixers have another $30-plus million player waiting in the wings. (Not yet, anyway.) Jared McCain won’t become eligible to sign an extension until the 2027 offseason, and his new deal won’t kick in until the 2028-29 campaign. Meanwhile, VJ Edgecombe is just beginning his four-year rookie-scale contract, so he won’t be extension-eligible until 2028.

The Sixers still figure to have some tight margins to stay under the second apron every year, particularly if they do re-sign Grimes at some point. However, unless Grimes and/or Oubre unexpectedly break the bank at some point over the next 12 months, the moves that the Sixers have done on the margins this offseason set them up for some semblance of stability this year and next.

Compare that to the Cavaliers, who are nearly $20 million over the second apron this year and are already projected to be more than $21.5 million above it next year. If they flame out again in the playoffs this coming season, the calls to break up their core will only grow louder. The Magic aren’t in quite as dire straits, although they will owe the quartet of Wagner, Bane, Suggs and Paolo Banchero nearly $155 million next season. The 2026-27 salary cap is currently projected to be in the neighborhood of $165 million.

The verdict​

In some respects, it’s easy to see why someone would say the Sixers have the league’s worst salary-cap situation. Embiid and George are considered among the NBA’s worst contracts at the moment, if not the two worst. Having two massive, negative-value contracts is an enormous impediment in the second-apron era, as teams are being increasingly cautious about their long-term commitments.

The one silver lining is that the Sixers’ front office has been cooking around the margins this offseason, and they appear to be acutely aware of their proximity to the second apron. Teams likely won’t cross that line more than twice over a four-year span—otherwise, their first-round pick seven years into the future automatically gets moved to the bottom of the first round—so the Sixers almost assuredly won’t even consider doing so until George and Embiid are healthy and they’re a legitimate championship contender.

Staying under the second apron brings with it a host of benefits, including access to the taxpayer MLE and the ability to aggregate contracts in trades. The Cavaliers can only hand out veteran-minimum contracts at the moment, as they didn’t get any mid-level exception this offseason since they crossed the second apron.

So, even though the Sixers may have the two worst contracts in the league, they might not have the NBA’s worst salary-cap situation. That dishonor might belong to the Cavaliers by virtue of how far over the second apron they project to be both this year and next, although the Magic and defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder might not be far behind them.

If only someone had warned the Sixers about assembling a three-max build before they did so. Oh well.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Salary Swish and salary-cap information via RealGM.

Follow Bryan on Bluesky.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76ers-analysis/78050/do-sixers-have-worst-salary-cap-situation-in-nba

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

What should Nurse’s approach be this offseason?

It’s got to be a tricky position to be in if you’re Sixers head coach Nick Nurse. Heading into a 2025-2026 NBA season where none of us really know how much the team will get out of their Big 3 — Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey — how might Nurse possibly game plan for whatever wonky conundrum this has become?

The obvious parallel, not from a pure injury standpoint so much as… other reasons, brings to mind the 2021-2022 Brooklyn Nets. In their first go-round, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving tantalized fans in Round 1 of of the 2021 NBA playoffs, taking out the Boston Celtics in just five games. But then injuries to both Harden and Irving allowed the Milwaukee Bucks to squeek by KD and co.

The next season, KD (knee), Harden (fried hamstrings) and Irving (vaccine status), could barely stack a handful of games before it all blew up. Adding Ben Simmons (mental health/career-altering back injury) sure wasn’t it.

Fast forward, and the Nets blew things up and wound up selecting a league record five total first-round picks back in June’s NBA Draft. The current Nets eventually found their direction, trading all of their All-Stars for future assets or rising stars. The Sixers on the other hand don’t yet know theirs… even if they think they do.

If Embiid can play basketball this season, he’ll be out there in some form or another… always a game-time decision, perhaps. If George can throw back the clock following a knee procedure, that would certainly do wonders for the team still light on the wing. But in mid-August, ESPN Senior Writer Ramona Shelburne offered an interesting nugget for us, on an appearance on “NBA Today:”

“I’ll say this. All the videos I see, all the word I get out of Philly is that Tyrese Maxey, and McCain, and the younger guys in VJ Edgecombe, they’ve all been in the gym all summer long,” Shelburne said. “Embiid, Paul George miss a lot of time last year. That young group, they may not wait. They may not be able to wait.”

Well, if we still don’t know if Embiid will be ready for the start of the season, as our Harrison Grimm warned us Nurse recently hinted a possibility, and we have no idea if he’ll follow up that agonizing pattern from last season (where he’d suit up then need to rest or not play at all), it would make sense for Nurse to design an offense that doesn’t rely on Joel or PG.

Our Josh Grieb pointed that out when Embiid did play last season, he led the team in usage percentage, despite comments prior to the 2024-2025 campaign that he wanted to play more of a facilitating role. He simply needed to make more adjustments he wasn’t prepared to make even as his body failed him. It was weird for both Embiid to even attempt, given how he looked, and it was arguably even weirder for Nurse to greenlight. But Shelburne’s comments that the young core may not wait for Joel and PG could become salient here.

An uptempo brand of ball certainly won’t be very conducive to Embiid’s acclimation. Nor will it be conducive to PG’s return. Yet the idea of featuring those two iso-heavy vets in halfcourt sets when it’s Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Jared McCain, who will be healthy and in rhythm, would be pretty odd, no? I’d predict there would eventually be tension at best, if they’re even fortunate enough to have that type of stylistic dilema.

If you were Nick Nurse, what type of offensive scheme would you be considering with such massive question marks in the middle and on the wing? And how would you prepare for any potential “whose team is this?” factions? It’s all shaping up to be one unique and bizarre offseason for this team. But at least we can look forward to witnessing Edgecombe, McCain and Maxey soon enough.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...this-offseason-sixers-joel-embiid-paul-george

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Editor-in-chief mailbag: 25th anniversary of 2000-01 team and camp is around the corner

Hello, friends. Took a week off from the mailbag because of the holiday, but we’re back.

On Monday, the Sixers announced plans to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 2000-01 team. You’ll recall it was the last Sixers team to make the Finals and the franchise hasn’t even been back to the Eastern Conference Finals since. I’m so glad they’re honoring Allen Iverson and that team by bringing back the black jerseys. It’s something to be excited about despite the uncertainty around the current squad.

So hit me with whatever questions you’ve got. That 2000-01 team happened during my formative years so I love talking about them. But definitely feel free to drop in some questions about 2025-26 with media day and training camp rapidly approaching!

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...of-2000-01-team-and-camp-is-around-the-corner

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Report: Ben Simmons rejected minimum contract from the Knicks

Training camps open around the NBA in a few weeks, but Ben Simmons has yet to find a new home.

On Monday, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported that the New York Knicks offered Simmons a one-year contract, but he passed on it. Stein added that he “entered the summer hopeful of securing a contract above the minimum” and that the Knicks and Boston Celtics “expressed the most serious interest in Simmons this summer.” On a likely related note, Stein reported late last week that Bernie Lee has “formally removed himself from the [NBPA’s] ledger as Simmons’ agent.”

Stefan Bondy of the New York Post recently reported that Simmons is “questioning whether he even wants to continue playing in the NBA next season.” During a recent Bleacher Report livestream, Jake Fischer added: “For any player who was making max money… it’s hard to accept that you are a veteran-minimum salary player. And that’s just where Ben Simmons is right now.”

That wasn’t the only Simmons-related nugget that Fischer dropped in his livestream, though. He also noted that the Sixers were at least open to a reunion with Simmons after the Brooklyn Nets bought him out in February.

“There had been some overtures, I would say, between Ben Simmons and the Sixers once he was securing a buyout from Brooklyn,” Fischer said. “He still has some friends in the area. I believe his brother was living in Philadelphia for a time. And there was some interest in Philadelphia at that point in time. But I can’t say I have any updated information on the Sixers’ interest in Ben Simmons there. I do think [Joel] Embiid and Ben have repaired that type of fracturing that went down behind the scenes as well.”

It’s worth noting that the Sixers do currently have their $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception available and have two open roster spots, although one of them is earmarked for Quentin Grimes. However, if no other team is offering Simmons more than a minimum deal, they shouldn’t dip into their taxpayer MLE to sign him.

It’s hard to believe this, but it’s now been five years since Simmons has played at an All-Star caliber level. After missing the entire 2021-22 campaign amidst his holdout from Philly and a back injury, he has played only 108 games over the past three seasons combined. During that stretch, he averaged only 5.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 23.9 minutes per game. He also shot only 52.4 percent from the free-throw line and attempted only two three-pointers, both of which came during the 2022-23 campaign.

In theory, Simmons still could provide value as a jumbo playmaker off the bench with the defensive chops to not get targeted on that end of the floor. However, the ship has likely sailed at this point on him ever getting back to the form he showed in the late 2010s. Despite what his annual offseason workout videos might suggest, his lack of improvement as a shooter limits him to being an 82-game player. Teams can largely ignore him on offense and shade additional help elsewhere, which would make him a glaring liability in the playoffs.

Simmons’ lack of availability over the past three seasons also doesn’t help his case, particularly when it comes to the Sixers. They’re already dealing with murky health situations both with Paul George and Joel Embiid. The last thing they need is to add another player with a lengthy injury history.

While a Sixers-Simmons reunion might not be on the table, it doesn’t sound like Simmons will be heading either to the Knicks or the Celtics unless he accepts reality and realizes that he’s now a minimum-contract player until he proves otherwise.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/nba-...um-contract-knicks-celtics-sixers-joel-embiid

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Does Eric Gordon have a place in the Sixers’ crowded backcourt?

You can’t count on a magical trip to the dentist every year.

While it may have been a bit of a surprise to see the Sixers bring Eric Gordon, who’ll turn 37 on Christmas, back for the upcoming season, they really didn’t have much of a choice. Gordon’s player option for the 2025-26 season made him bound to return to the team in some form. The team convinced him to rip up that option and sign a new deal that both gave him a raise and the team a cut to their salary cap.

Like so many members of last year’s team, Gordon will be returning trying to erase a bizarre, injury-riddled season. Brought in as a sharpshooter to space the floor, his tenure as a Sixer could not have gotten off to a worse start. He couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn for the first two months of the season, shooting 27.5% from three-point range. That was a problem given that 62% of his shots come from behind the arc these days, according to Cleaning the Glass.

Then something weird happened. Gordon took some time off in December to get an oral surgery — he had to had his wisdom teeth removed. That ended up costing him more time than expected, 12 days in total, but he returned looking like a totally different player. He would go on to hit 48.8% of his threes after his return, taking 4.3 of them a game. That stretch would only last 20 games though. Gordon suffered a wrist injury in mid-February when the wheels really started to fall off. He opted for surgery and did not appear as the team would spend the rest of the season trying to lose any many games as possible.

The temperature on Gordon in this city is still fairly low despite that hot stretch. A big part of that is he wasn’t helpful to the team at the beginning of last season, the only point there was any room for hope. Even with the evidence that he did not completely fall off as a shooter, his re-signing was not super popular among the fanbase.

The additions to the backcourt also factor into this. Gordon’s season basically ended before the emergence of Quentin Grimes late last year. On top of Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain, who look like future building blocks for this team, they also drafted another guard with the third overall pick in VJ Edgecombe. While all of those moves fit in with the shift towards youth that Daryl Morey has talked about all offseason, it’s hard to see how a 17-year veteran with an increasingly repetitive skillset fits into that.

In an ideal world, Gordon has a fairly reduced role this season as those four youngsters eat up the bulk of guard minutes. Provided he doesn’t go a two-month prolonged cold stretch like last season, he could be handy to come off the bench here and there and knock down some shots. That should be easier for him to do as opposed to the necessary floor spacer who was needed to start 13 games last season, including opening night.

The combination of that, plus some good old veteran leadership is a totally acceptable use of an end-of-bench roster spot. Gordon should be fit for the task as he has a decent amount of history with Edgecombe. They’re familiar with each other after playing for the Bahamian national team last summer. Edgecombe has talked extensively about what he’s been able to learn from a veteran like Gordon, as well as poking fun at the fact that they’re now teammates despite a large age gap.

There’s not necessarily anything wrong with using a roster spot for a guy to just be around the young guys, except that the Sixers are using two of them. Not only did they bring back Gordon, but they brought back Kyle Lowry as well, a guy who is such an extreme twilight of his career that a literal coach’s tag was slapped on him during one of the many games he missed due to injury.

While Gordon almost certainly still has more to give on the court than Lowry, neither of them playing solves the issue that this will be a very small roster going into this season. At 6-foot-3, he certainly can’t help any lineups with the young guards together make any sense. That’s not to say he’s completely washed. If a guy can make half of his three-pointers for over a month, he should be getting minutes somewhere. If the Sixers really are pivoting to their younger core, is Philadelphia the place for him?

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...-preview-kyle-lowry-tyrese-maxey-vj-edgecombe

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Editor-in-chief: Black jerseys, Quentin Grimes’ role, more

Didn’t get many responses in the comments section, but luckily folks on Twitter and Bluesky came through.

Let’s get right into your questions.

I’ve been saying all offseason that the Sixers are much more committed to the youth of this team than outside perception. I think those rumors mostly speak to that. Obviously, Quentin Grimes’ contract could bring the team dangerously close to the dreaded second apron. Moving either of those veterans would give the team more breathing room — which helps them now and with possible future team building.

With that said, I’m much more interested in moving Andre Drummond than Kelly Oubre Jr. If you could dump Drummond to a team like the Nets — while attaching a minor asset — it would free up a roster spot. If Daryl Morey then dives into the minimum market, it would help with the second apron situation. So, you could essentially upgrade Drummond’s roster spot and pay that upgrade less money for maybe the cost of a second-rounder.

I’m less eager to trade Oubre in a salary dump situation. Oubre has real value. If the team struggles as we approach the deadline, I think Morey would be foolish not to consider trading Oubre. But attaching an asset to get off his salary? I wouldn’t love that.

I don’t think it’s about the team believing Joel Embiid and Paul George will be healthy — or so unhealthy to the point of tanking. In the case of Drummond, if Embiid isn’t healthy, how competitive can this team really be? A play-in spot is certainly feasible in the depleted East. But is Drummond the difference between the 10th or 11 seed? Does that even matter? If Embiid is unable to play this season, it feels more much valuable to see what you have in guys like Adem Bona and Johni Broome than retreading with Drummond.

To a lesser extent, it’s the same deal with Oubre. If George and Embiid are both not playing, the team should want to get a longer look at Justin Edwards, Jabari Walker and Dominick Barlow. They should also view that as an opportunity to experiment with Grimes and VJ Edgecombe playing the 3.

If Embiid and George are healthy, there’s plenty surrounding them to win games — even if Drummond and Oubre are moved. If both aging stars are unhealthy, let the kids play and see what you’ve got.

With the lineup construction, I'd like to know from the players how they each plan to get a career best rebounds per game average this season. It feels like that will be needed to succeed. lol

— ScopeBro (@ScopeBro) September 8, 2025

Rebounding is likely to be an issue for the Sixers once again. With a healthier Embiid and Ben Simmons in the fold the Sixers were one of the better rebounding teams in the NBA. That’s what makes this recent descension really stand out. It was also massively exploited by the New York Knicks in the playoffs in 2024.

The Sixers are guard-heavy and won’t magically get bigger overnight. They have guys like Oubre, Edgecombe and Grimes who are good rebounders for guards, but the lack of true fours and so much uncertainty at center will likely lead to more issues on the glass. For as high as I am on Bona, he’s not a great rebounder. Nick Nurse’s scheme is also a factor — with guys scrambling so much defensively it takes an extra level of focus to finish possessions with rebounds.

Your only real hope is Broome, Walker and/or Barlow finding roles on this team at the four. All three guys are strong rebounders and could help, but it’s hard to know how much meaningful run they’ll get. Broome was as productive a college player as we’ve seen recently, but there was a reason why he was a second-rounder. Walker and Barlow are intriguing, but they’re on two-way deals for a reason. If one of those guys pops it should be considered a huge win for the front office.

Which are more iconic, the Iverson-era Sixers jerseys or Kelly Green Eagles jerseys?

— Bryan Toporek (@btoporek.bsky.social) 2025-09-08T20:14:40.463Z

This is borderline impossible for me.

I’m 40, so my early introduction into football was the Eagles of the early 90s. My first football memories are of Reggie White terrorizing quarterbacks, Randall Cunningham revolutionizing the quarterback position, Seth Joyner being everywhere and Eric Allen returning pick-sixes. My first football jersey was a Ricky Watters Kelly green one (he literally only wore it his first season).

But those black Allen Iverson-era jerseys just ignite something in me, man. Everyone that’s followed me here knows how I feel about Iverson. He’s my favorite athlete of all time and one of the reasons I’m doing this job. Things were so bleak for the Sixers for me as a kid. They traded Charles Barkley who went on to win MVP and take his team to the Finals the literal next season. They drafted Shawn Bradley over Penny Hardaway and Sharone Wright over Eddie Jones, who was in their own freaking backyard.

There was no Process to acquire Iverson. The team simply sucked its way into the No. 1 overall pick. Everything about Iverson made me love him when I was an impressionable preteen. His game spoke for itself. Off the court, he was unapologetic, emotional and human. He was his authentic self, and there was nothing cooler than that.

All of that to say … it depends. The Kelly green Eagles jerseys simply look cool. Yes, part of it is thinking about Randall and those Buddy Ryan defenses, but from simply a look standpoint, Kelly green wins. If we’re talking feelings and emotions evoked, I go Sixers black jerseys. Think it boils down to the Sixers were the most successful in my lifetime while wearing the black jerseys. The Eagles have won two Super Bowl in Midnight green.

Though Saquon Barkley did his backwards hurdle in Kelly green, that doesn’t quite match Iverson’s Step-Over when you consider the magnitude. It’s like asking me to choose between my children though (I only have one, so you can’t actually do that).

If and when Grimes signs, what do you envision his role will be with the influx of guards the Sixers have?Additional question — who is your favorite Sixer from the 2000-01 team not named Allen Iverson?

— Jovan Alford (@jovan10.bsky.social) 2025-09-08T20:38:31.685Z

The first part of this question I’ve touched on a bit. I expect Grimes to be the starting 2, regardless of what else the Sixers do. I also expect Nick Nurse to use three guards aplenty, with either Grimes or Edgecombe being asked to guard up. I think it will work. It might not! But the Sixers need to try it when you consider all the talent at guard.

Oh, that’s a great question! It was probably Theo Ratliff and then that turned into Dikembe Mutombo once the trade went down. A guy I’ll always have a soft spot for though: The Sheriff, Rodney Buford. He had a few nice games as Sixer. The dude could go get a bucket, something the Sixers desperately needed from someone who wasn’t A.I. Larry Brown obviously preferred his defense-first guys — which proved to be the correct strategy.

Let’s say Joel embiid wont play(tired of acting like he will) what’s the offense look like with bona and Drummond at center? Can’t be the same as Jo

— (@phiggs44.bsky.social) 2025-09-08T20:50:54.150Z

Whenever Embiid isn’t playing, I expect the Sixers to play at a breakneck pace. They have one of the fastest players in he league in Maxey. McCain and Grimes are also good in transition. Edgecombe is going to be a freaking nightmare on the break for opponents. Add in a rim-running big like Bona and the team will likely look totally different. Even 35-year-old Paul George is a good transition player.

I would expect a ton of pick-and-roll in the half-court, especially when Bona is in there. Giving these guards a lob threat like Bona is going to feel like stealing on some nights. I would also expect the Sixers to jack up a ton of threes between all the guards and a guy like Edwards. We even saw Broome firing away in the summer league. Plus the ball movement should be better with no player having a ridiculous usage rate. While Bona is just an OK rebounder overall, he’s excellent on the offensive glass, so that could wind up being very helpful.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...-chief-black-jerseys-quentin-grimes-role-more

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Billy Lange reportedly accepting coaching position with Knicks

At long last, a high-profile former Villanova coach is joining the New York Knicks. No, Jay Wright is still enjoying his lower stress life hanging out at the Jersey Shore and doing studio work. Per reporting from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, current Saint Joseph’s head coach, and former Villanova and Philadelphia 76ers assistant Billy Lange, will be joining Mike Brown’s staff with the Knicks.

The New York Knicks are expected to hire Saint Joseph’s head coach Billy Lange for a role on the coaching staff, sources tell me, @jeffborzello and @TimBontemps. He was set to enter his seventh season at St. Joe's. pic.twitter.com/xfX5Ap8pmm

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 10, 2025

Lange was the lead assistant with the Sixers before leaving to accept the head coaching job with the Hawks in 2019. After initial struggles (Lange’s first two St. Joe’s teams went 6-26 and 5-15), the program improved to go 21-14 in 2023-24 and 22-13 last season, losing in the NIT first round both seasons. While no one expects St. Joe’s to be a perennial powerhouse (part of the reason the 2003-04 team with Jameer Nelson and Delonte West was so magical), not returning the program to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 will certainly be viewed as a failure of Lange’s tenure on Hawk Hill.

While everyone had their laughs at the method of the Knicks’ coaching search following Tom Thibodeau’s surprise firing, there’s no denying Mike Brown is as solid as they come. In addition to Lange, Brown has brought in Chris Jent and Brendan O’Connor, while retaining Rick Brunson (imagine firing Jalen’s dad) and Sixers legend Mo Cheeks. We can argue about New York’s ceiling in the Eastern Conference, but there is certainly a high floor both in terms of the roster and the experience along the bench.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/nba-...tedly-accepting-coaching-position-with-knicks

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

What’s Andre Drummond’s future with the Sixers?

Hopefully all 10 toes and other necessary appendages can stay in tact this time.

After their defeat in the first round of the 2024 playoffs to the New York Knicks, the Sixers felt themselves wanting more Joel Embiid insurance. They used cap space to bring in a high profile backup, signing Andre Drummond to a two-year, $10 million dollar deal.

Despite Embiid not being ready for the start of the season, that insurance did not come in handy. Drummond, like the rest of the team, could not have gotten off to a worst start to the 2024-25 season. Despite being thrust into the starting lineup, his rebounds per game and block rate were reduced to half of his career averages. Things only got worse when he suffered a toe injury on Dec. 23 against the Spurs, a game that saw him get ejected for about three minutes before having that overturned.

Drummond tried to fight through the injury but was only able to play five games over the next two months. It wasn’t until he finally sat for an extended stretch that he realized how much the injury was impacting everything on the court.

So it wasn’t much of a shock when Drummond picked up his player option to return to Philadelphia this upcoming season. His role on this team is certainly less clear than it was a season a go. If Embiid is able to play basketball on a semi-regular basis, perhaps they’ll need a quality backup center to eat innings, but who is counting on that these days?

The problem Drummond faces here is that regardless of any role that could be asked of him, there is a younger center on the roster who might already be flat out better. While it didn’t result in many wins, it became clear in January and February that Adem Bona just gave them a better chance to compete. His 3.7% block rate dwarfed Drummond’s at 1.3%, while their foul rates were fairly comparable at 4.7 to 4.4% despite Bona being a second-round rookie.

Bona still posted worse rebounding rates, but that difference felt negligible as Drummond was having the worst rebounding season of his career. Drummond is far from the player winning rebounding titles and making All-Star games with the Pistons, but his drop-off last season was stark. In similar minutes in his 2023-24 season with the Chicago Bulls he averaged 8.4 points and nine rebounds per game, as well as a much more respectable block rate of 1.9%

So there is hope that Drummond is not nearly as washed as he looked last season. Like many other Sixers, a clean bill of health could do wonders in that department. If the Sixers want to, or are even forced to shift their focus around the younger guards they’ve begun to stockpile, does he have a place with them?

There’s a lot of buzz right now that Drummond could be moved before the season even starts. Jake Fischer reported recently that the Sixers are looking to move one, if not both of Drummond and Kelly Oubre Jr. in attempt to free up more money to pay Quentin Grimes. Our own affiliate, NetsDaily, reported that Brooklyn could be a potential landing spot for him.

Andre Drummond is one possibility for a salary dump, two sources tell us. Losing his $5M expiring would help 76ers get some relief under CBA. What might Nets want? Don’t know but how about a reduction in protections on that 2028 first, now protected 1-8? Nets have 19 seconds!

— NetsDaily (@NetsDaily) September 8, 2025

If that’s the asking price though, maybe not.

While that could be the right move, there are some reasons to have caution of dumping Drummond, even if Embiid is not ready for the start of the season. Even if Bona does get the starting center job opening night, he can’t play every minute every night. Someone is going to have to split that time with him. This close to the start of the season, they aren’t going to find any better options on the free agent market.

Drummond’s destiny for this season may just be a moveable, expiring contract. At this moment though, the Sixers have three centers on their roster and can only count on two to be reliably available. At some point, if a ground ball is hit to first base, someone’s got to be there to pick it up.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...ers-nets-player-preview-joel-embiid-adem-bona

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Every fan should have a soft spot for the 2000-01 Sixers

Too often, fans view sports through a binary lens. To some extent, it’s fair as every game has a winner and a loser. In basketball, every field goal attempt is either going to go in or it will not. But when this mindset broadens to things like awards and championships, the waters get muddied for unnecessary reasons.

Saying things like “Joel Embiid will either win the NBA MVP or he will not” and “The Sixers will either win the NBA Championship or they will not” are not the same binary views as the team winning one game or Tyrese Maxey making a jump shot. In the former scenario, Embiid is competing against a myriad of MVP candidates and the Sixers are competing against a handful of other NBA title contenders. In the latter scenario, the Sixers are only competing against one team on the given night fans want them to win and Maxey and no one else control most of the fate of his jump shot.

In other words, it’s understandable to be frustrated if the Sixers let a game slip away and giftwrap a win for their opponent or to be annoyed if Maxey missed an open jumper. But, only one candidate can win the MVP award and only one team can win the NBA Championship each year. That does not mean all the MVP candidates that did not receive enough votes for the award had bad seasons nor does it mean the other title contenders that fell short should be viewed as choke artists.

Simply put, if you believe that in a 30-team league, there is one successful team each season and 29 failures, you’re going to deprive yourself of enjoying a lot of fun moments in every sport created by those 29 teams that did not win the championship. The 2000-01 Philadelphia 76ers are one of those teams that did not win a title, but gave their fans a ton to remember and deserve to still be talked about a quarter century later.

Much has been made of that 2000-01 season still being the last one in which Philadelphia advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. By now, the franchise’s history post Allen Iverson is well documented. It’s a mixture of being a mediocre team no one outside of Philadelphia cared about, being one of the worst teams in the NBA and being a national punchline for continuous early exits in the playoffs.

But, it’s also worth noting that 2001 was also Philadelphia’s first time in the Eastern Conference Finals since 1985. So that means that any Sixers fan under the age of 40 has only seen the team make the NBA’s final four one time, and it happened in 2001. That’s nearly two generations of Sixers fans who never got more hope than they did in 2001 and were never prouder of a Sixers team than the one that made it all the way to the NBA Finals and held a 1-0 lead over the dynastic Lakers in the NBA Finals.

We mentioned awards earlier. Did you know that the Sixers won four of the NBA’s major awards in that 2000-01 season? Iverson was the league MVP, Aaron McKie took home Sixth Man of the Year honors, Dikembe Mutumbo was the Defensive Player of the Year and Larry Brown was the Coach of the Year. There’s an underdog mentality that gets applied to this team because of how heavy of a favorite the Lakers were in the NBA Finals and Iverson was the little guy who ripped the hearts out of the bigger guys chests all the time. McKie also being the willing sixth man who grew up in Philly, went to Temple and found his way back to the City of Brotherly Love in the middle of his career for a team that made such a deep playoff run is another one of those cute little stories that eats at anyone. Don’t forget Mutumbo coming in at the trade deadline as the thought-to-be missing piece in a move that saw the well-liked Theo Ratliff shipped south to Atlanta.

But you don’t clean up all those awards like that by accident. The 56-26 record in the regular season is still the best record for any Sixers team in the 21st century. The team finished first in the East by a four-game margin over the next closest team which was Milwaukee. Had some of their regular season dominance carried over in a bigger way to the postseason, perhaps the Sixers would have had a real chance to beat the Lakers. Instead, they had to play four out of a then-possible five games in the first round against Indiana and three of the four games were decided by five points or less. Then it was back-to-back seven-game series against Toronto and Milwaukee to get out of the East. They definitely ran out of gas when they got to the Lakers.

The Sixers lost to the Pacers in the 2000 and 1999 NBA playoffs which made getting over the hump in 2001 mean a lot for a first-round series. It felt like Toronto and Milwaukee threw everything at the Sixers and the Sixers survived a 12-round boxing fight each time. All of these twists and turns in the playoffs made the Sixers more likable and we certainly haven’t seen a Sixers team connect with the city of Philadelphia the way this one did.

We mentioned that there’s essentially two generations that haven’t seen a deeper playoff run than 2001 from the Sixers. There’s the group of people who are now in their mid 40s and therefore not quite old enough to remember the franchise’s glory days in the early 80s. Then there’s the fans in their late 20s and early 30s who have seen every other Philadelphia sports franchise have more success overall in the 21st century than the Sixers have had.

But it’s that second generation of fans in their late 20s and early 30s that I want to highlight to wrap things up because I’m part of it. I was born in December 1994. I wasn’t alive for the Buddy Ryan Eagles teams and I certainly don’t remember the Flyers teams in the 90s that were led by the Legion of Doom. If you’re my age, the 2000-01 Sixers were the first Philadelphia sports team you really fell in love with. Sure, the Eagles made five NFC Championship appearances under Andy Reid and played in a Super Bowl. We all know about the Phillies winning five straight NL East titles from 2007-11 and making it to the World Series twice in those five seasons and winning it all in 2008. I’ll even include the Flyers’ magical playoff run in 2010. But, if you’re old enough to have those other Philly sports memories of the first decade of the 21st century, you probably have at least some from the 2000-01 Sixers it was those Sixers memories that came first.

Two years ago, a documentary called “Everything But the Chip” was released to chronicle the 2000-01 season. There are championship winners every year and there aren’t documentaries made about all of them. This team fell three wins shy of a championship and about a quarter century later we’re still talking about them. I’m not implying the documentary belongs in the pantheon of sports documentaries, but it certainly speaks to the impact that the 2000-01 Sixers had on Philadelphia sports and the NBA. Between all of the awards the team won, finishing first in the Eastern Conference by a comfortable margin, and simply galvanizing the city by having such a huge cultural impact in Philadelphia, it’s going to take a lot for another Sixers team to do the same thing. It’s been 25 years and we haven’t seen any Sixers team get close since. So, yeah, they did fall short of the ultimate goal, but let’s remember the heck out of the 2000-01 Sixers this season.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...hould-have-a-soft-spot-for-the-2000-01-sixers

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

What are the Sixers expecting from Kyle Lowry in his 20th NBA season?

I want it on the record that everything I am about to say is with all due respect to the incredibly successful, two-decade long career of Kyle Lowry.

The Philadelphia-native and Villanova University graduate is about to enter his 20th season in the NBA. He was the 24th overall pick back in 2006 who has gone on to win an Olympic gold medal with the United States (2016), an NBA championship (2019 with the Toronto Raptors) and earned six career All-Star nods along the way. Lowry is 13th in the history of the league in career three-pointers made with 2,205.

With all of that being said and all the flowers in the world given for these past achievements, we must now look forward to 2025-26 campaign ahead of us. This season, the Sixers should hope that Lowry is nowhere near the playing floor (except maybe in the final minutes of blowouts).

The fact is simple—Lowry is no longer physically able to meaningfully compete in the NBA at this point in his career. With his 40th birthday coming up in March 2026, age has just caught up to him, taking with it the skills and abilities that allowed him to prosper for two decades in the NBA despite standing just six foot flat. The explosiveness, the movement and the endurance have given way… I guess there’s probably a reason there aren’t many players still in the association into their 40s.

The issues were clearly evident for Lowry last season. He played in 35 games total, his lowest since his rookie season in which he played 10 games for the Memphis Grizzlies back in 2006-07. He averaged just 3.9 points, shooting 35% from the floor with 1.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game—the lowest marks in each category he’s posted in his long NBA career. Lowry’s season essentially ended on Feb. 9 due to a nagging hip issue. It wasn’t pretty.

What did come of it, however, was the emergence of “Coach Lowry”. With the Sixers roster in shambles for the late months of last season, Lowry was seen on multiple occasions, often mid-game, coaching the rest of the squad in plain clothes. He couldn’t play for months, but he was there every night. It was a mentorship that was noted and complimented by his Sixers’ teammates.

That is much more likely what the Sixers expect of him this upcoming season, rather than making direct meaningful impact on the court.

Now, the decision to use one of just 15 roster spots on a veteran presence turned player-coach has garnered mixed reactions at best from fans. The decision to use yet another roster slot on Eric Gordon, in a similar boat as Lowry and turning 37 this December, made things even more questionable for some. I think some level of questioning of making not one but both of those moves is more than fair.

But all of this is to say, I believe the Sixers signed Lowry with the full expectation that his main contributions to the team won’t be on the playing floor. He is now a wealth of firsthand player knowledge and experience for a slew of young Sixers, something that might be in high demand on the roster if Joel Embiid and Paul George are unable to go due to their respective injury issues.

The bottom line is that, if Lowry is on the floor for any meaningful minutes for the Sixers this season, it likely means things have already completely derailed for the team…

Though, that is a possibility that can almost never be ruled out with this franchise.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...eason-nba-philadelphia-nick-nurse-daryl-morey

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Could Trendon Watford go from afterthought to key starter for the Sixers?

Coming into the 2025 offseason, the Sixers weren’t expected to make much noise. They had already made their big splash the previous summer by signing Paul George, and apart from working on re-signing Quentin Grimes (still ongoing), their options were limited. Still, there was room to improve around the margins, and we saw that immediately with their first move: signing Trendon Watford to a two-year minimum contract with a team option.

Casual NBA fans might only remember Watford as a rotation player from the Damian Lillard-era Trail Blazers or last season’s rebuilding Brooklyn Nets. A former LSU Tiger, he entered the league as an undrafted player — an unorthodox path — but he has maximized every opportunity. At just 24, his best basketball likely lies ahead.

It’s no accident that Watford was Philadelphia’s first free-agent pickup. The Sixers made it a priority to reach out and bring him aboard, and on paper, it makes perfect sense. With Guerschon Yabusele, the team’s only true power forward, departing in free agency, the Sixers badly needed size, rebounding, and defensive toughness at the position. Watford checks all those boxes, but what makes him especially valuable is the versatility he adds beyond that, which helps explain why the Sixers moved quickly to secure him.

Watford is an intriguing archetype: a forward capable of handling the ball and creating for others, somewhat reminiscent of Kyle Anderson. That’s a skill set Nick Nurse will surely lean into. Last season, Tyrese Maxey was asked to shoulder nearly everything on offense — scoring at a high level while also serving as the team’s primary playmaker. While Maxey has made real strides in distributing, relying on him to carry that heavy of a load isn’t a recipe for long-term success, especially for a team with playoff ambitions.

There’s also statistical evidence suggesting that Maxey is more efficient and plays better when used off the ball. We didn’t see much of that last season, but every year before supports the trend. That’s where Watford’s value becomes even clearer. Fewer dribbles for Maxey means greater long-term success — for both him and the team.

Watford can take some of that burden by bringing the ball up the floor, without sacrificing the qualities the Sixers desperately need around their guard-heavy core: size, athleticism, and rebounding.

So, we’ve established the qualities that should keep Watford on the floor as a featured part of the Sixers moving forward. But what could potentially hold him back? It really comes down to one key area: shooting.

For his career (217 regular-season games), Watford has shot 34.9 percent from three-point range, which on the surface seems respectable. However, that number comes on very low volume — just 1.2 attempts per game in 17.6 minutes. There is some evidence, though, that he can be serviceable from deep. Last season with the Nets, he attempted a career-high 2 threes per game and converted at 33 percent. Given the lack of offensive talent around him, that’s a promising sign.

Watford is also a capable free-throw shooter, averaging 76 percent from the charity stripe over his career. At just 24 years old, there is clear room for improvement.

As many of you know, Rico Hines runs have been underway, with Watford playing a prominent role in the scrimmages. While pick-up basketball is different from regular-season games, he has consistently shown the ability to make perimeter shots and knock down threes off the dribble. This could be a promising sign for his development this season.

If Watford can maintain or improve his current shooting rate, it will be difficult to keep him off the floor. He gives the Sixers the size, athleticism, and versatility they need around their guard core and helps bridge the gap between Paul George and Joel Embiid. Don’t be surprised to see him play a significant role in the rotation, or even earn a spot in the starting lineup.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/76er...om-afterthought-to-key-starter-for-the-sixers