Getty Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics.
The Philadelphia 76ers shook things up earlier this week by adding Montrezl Harrell. They are likely done spending in free agency as the team turns its attention to training camp in South Carolina. The Sixers have 19 players rostered – including two-way players Charlie Brown Jr. and Julian Champagnie — and need to trim that number down to 15 by October 18.
While it’s possible Daryl Morey pulls one more rabbit out of his hat, the roster probably won’t see any new pieces. All-Star center Joel Embiid wanted “tough guys” and he got them. The retooled Sixers enter the 2022-23 season as one of the top threats in the Eastern Conference.
But what about next year? Or the year after that? It’s never too early to start looking ahead at potential free agents in 2024.
According to Celtics Blog, Jaylen Brown could be poised for a Boston breakup as he weighs his options. The one-time All-Star guard has two years left on the $106.3 million deal he inked in 2020 but neither side seems in any rush to get an extension done. Enter Philadelphia. The Sixers could be the perfect “change of scenery” for Brown in the summer of 2024. And Embiid would “assumedly jump at the chance to play with Brown,” per Jack Simone.
Simone wrote: “The summer of 2024 will be the first time that Boston’s current core is put in danger, and for the most part, the Celtics don’t have any control over it. Brown will be an unrestricted free agent. The Celtics can offer him more money overall than anyone else, but if he wants to join a different team, he will have complete freedom to do so.”
Power Ranking the Sixers New-Look Roster
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley recently ranked the Sixers’ roster, from the bottom tier to the middle tier to the top tier. There was no real insight or new information, other than this nugget: James Harden was “the league’s only player to average 20 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds” last season.
Buckley also showered perennial MVP candidate Joel Embiid with drool-worthy praise:
Embiid has taken silver in the last two MVP votes, and as long as he’s healthy next season, he’ll again factor heavily in the race. He’s a top-shelf defensive anchor who won a scoring title, averaged 4.2 assists and shot 37.1 percent from three last season. He is a real-life cheat code.
2021-22’s top 10 players in our new On-Ball Gravity metric:
1. Luka Doncic
2. Joel Embiid
3. Dame Lillard
4. James Harden
5. Steph Curry
6. Trae Young
7. Chris Paul
8. DeMar DeRozan
9. Jayson Tatum
10. Paul George
These players bend defenses most when the ball is in their hands
Better Offseason: Sixers or Celtics?
The Sixers have been garnering all kinds of kudos for a fantastic spring and summer. They plugged holes and addressed weaknesses. Philadelphia firmly put themselves in the conversation for the best team in the Eastern Conference. However, an ESPN offseason survey – featuring a panel of 15 NBA coaches, scouts, and executives — ranked them one peg below the Boston Celtics.
Current Depth Chart
PG: Harden/ Melton/ Milton
SG: Maxey/ Korkmaz/ Joe/ Queen/ Springer
SF: Tucker/ House/ Thybulle/ Brown Jr (2)/ Champagnie (2)
PF: Harris/ Niang
C: Embiid/ Harrell/ Reed/ Bassey
The deepest team we’ve had in a while 🔥
Prior to free agency, Morey talked about the value of having Doc Rivers steering the ship and recruiting players to Philly. Whatever the outside perception, guys want to play for Rivers. Hence why the Sixers were able to grab P.J. Tucker, Danuel House, Montrezl Harrell, Trevelin Queen, and De’Anthony Melton.
“People want to play for him [Rivers] because he’s very upfront with what role they’ll have, and I think that’s helped us recruit,” Morey told reporters. “Hopefully, after free agency, we’re going to be a pretty deep team … I can’t tell you how much when I’m out there people are like, ‘I want to play for Doc.’ That’s been very helpful to me.”