Six Sixers Free Agency Takeaways So Far
Let’s talk about what the Sixers have done over the last 48 hours, what is to come for them, and how stunning the news in Brooklyn is.
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
It has been a wild few days in the NBA, as June 30 and July 1 have always tended to be. The landscape of the league has been altered quite a bit, with considerable change still on the way.
Let’s talk about what the Sixers have done over the last 48 hours, what is to come for them, and how stunning the news in Brooklyn is.
#1: Sixers sign PJ Tucker to three-year, $33.2M fully-guaranteed contract
Tucker was not my first choice when it became clear the Sixers were going to have the $10M mid-level exception available, in large part due to the fact that he is already 37 years old. With that being said, I think it’s obvious that at least in the immediate-term, he will help the Sixers win games.
Tucker obviously has a strong reputation as a hard-nosed player, which is something the Sixers have lacked for years now. In fact, at the end of the Miami series, Joel Embiid suggested that the Sixers needed someone like PJ Tucker specifically. Their lack of “dogs” has been apparent over the last few years.
Mentality aside, Tucker brings supreme defensive versatility to the team, and he’ll help aid the noteworthy rebounding issues they had on both ends of the floor last season. While Tucker is not as good of a shooter as Danny Green was, he can replace Green’s corner three-point shooting. Tucker has specialized in that shot for years, especially during his time in Houston.
A noteworthy fact: Tucker’s three highest-volume shooting seasons were his three years in Houston playing alongside James Harden. I would expect to see him get loads of shots up this year, certainly more than the 2.7 three-point attempts per game he shot in Miami in 2021-22.
Am I a bit queasy about giving a 37-year old three guaranteed years of eight digits? Yeah, of course. But there’s no question that Tucker is capable of being an important part of a championship contender, as he has already been several times in his career.
#2: Sixers sign Danuel House to two-year, $8.2M contract (player option for second season)
House was a target I liked for the veteran’s minimum, so him receiving the full bi-annual exception wasn’t particularly inspiring to me.
House will be a decent rotation wing, but I’m not sure he is someone worth using your last piece of significant spending power on.
Regardless, this is another example of Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey bringing in one of his guys who he trusts. And while the “Philadelphia Rockets” jokes are funny, it’s not as if House is a bad player. He’ll be totally serviceable, but I’m just not particularly inspired by the move.
I will add that this move makes me feel even stronger that Matisse Thybulle will eventually be dealt, as House clearly figures to start the season in Doc Rivers’ rotation. (More on a possible trade soon.)
#3: Sixers sign Trevelin Queen to two-year, veteran’s minimum contract ($300K partial guarantee in second season)
This was a move I didn’t exactly see coming, but it makes more sense as I continue to think about it.
Queen absolutely dominated the G-League this past season, winning the MVP award and giving the Sixers their second player to win that honor after Paul Reed took home the award in his rookie season. Queen scored over 25 points per game in addition to being an exceptional defensive player, and perhaps most importantly, a very high-volume three-point shooter.
I’m not going to expect much from him off the bat, and I doubt the Sixers will either, but a two-year minimum deal on an upside play like Queen seems to me like a reasonable use of a roster spot.
#4: The Brooklyn Nets implosion begins
Kevin Durant’s stunning trade request out of Brooklyn has been the leading story over the last two days, and for good reason: I’m not sure a player this good has ever forced his way out of an organization, let alone one with four years left on their contract.
This entire Brooklyn disaster has been incredible to watch unfold, and I think teams around the league are going to learn a lesson here that there is perhaps nothing more important than cohesion within an organization.
One of the reasons I think the Sixers have struggled to improve over the last several years is that there was often discord between critical parts of the organization not being on the same page. And that has clearly happened to a much greater extent in Brooklyn, seemingly mostly because of Kyrie Irving.
To think that they signed Durant and Irving then traded for Harden, and only won one playoff series in a three-year period is absolutely remarkable. Ultimately, this saga will serve as a cautionary tale for whoever tries to build a superteam next.
#5: Harden remains unsigned
Harden returning to Philadelphia is a lock at this point; what remains unclear is what the structure of his deal will look like.
First of all, it’s clear that Harden was willing to take a considerable pay cut in order to help improve this roster -- and I think he should be commended for that. He said after the team got eliminated that he would do anything he can to help the team win a title, and so far he’s done that by taking this pay cut. Obviously he needs to show up on the court in the most high-pressure situations in order to truly help this team reach the next level, but I think it’s worth noting that he is going to be taking a significant pay cut in order to help this team hopefully become a contender.
As far as what his deal will look like, I’ve assumed for a while that it would be a three-year deal where he gets salary increases as time passes. But as I continue to think about it, I think there is a possibility this ends up being a two- or maybe even one-year deal that allows Harden to perhaps soon recoup some of the money that he’s giving up in the upcoming season. If I had to guess, I would still say it’s a multi-year deal, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s much shorter-term than we have been expecting.
#6: What’s next for the Sixers?
Once the Harden deal is completed, the Sixers will have achieved their significant goals for the summer -- but they may not be done making moves.
If you count Harden, Tucker, House and Queen, the Sixers have 16 players under contract for next season, while the roster limit is 15.
The fix could be something as simple as releasing a young player like Isaiah Joe or Charles Bassey. But I wouldn’t be shocked at all if we see a trade. If we do, my guess is it would include at least one of Furkan Korkmaz and Thybulle -- either dumping Korkmaz and his $5M salary, trading Thybulle for a draft pick, or trading both of them for another rotation piece.
Nearly every player on the roster could be dealt in theory, but I think those two wings, both coming off significantly disappointing seasons, could be the primary options if Morey and co. look to swing another deal.