Like Kevin Durant, the NBA has gone out of its comfort zone by shifting its entire schedule to go to the end of its season at all costs. And the next one will start on December 22, which promises a very special Free Agency 2020 in these times of pandemic. Between the Draft scheduled for the month of November and training camps that begin on December 1, the GMs are preparing to sweat very hard. That’s good, the Sixers have just two GM at their head. To see if we will say the same thing at the end of winter.
Who will jump first?
We lacked a fun subject to chew on and our friends in Philadelphia thought of us during this second confinement with their … particular organization. Normally, when a new boss is appointed to head a franchise, he likes to surround himself with people he can trust, and that’s perfectly normal. Take the example of the Bulls, they appointed Artūras Karnišovas to head basketball operations and he then chose his own GM and coach. There is a relationship of trust that exists between the three entities, which must guarantee a sound basis for building, and the project inevitably bears the mark of management since it is Karnišovas himself who is at the base of everything. Let’s take our friends the Sixers now: the GM appointed the coach according to his own criteria and the new leader, namely Daryl Morey, arrived next. There is therefore a president who has chosen neither his right arm, the General Manager, nor the coach who carries his project. And again, one would have thought that Elton Brand was going to release from the signing of Morey but no, on the contrary it was extended over several years. What will happen if the results slip quickly? Our friend from analytics will take the hat off when he chose neither the men nor the workforce? It would be bad to know the old man. As president of basketball operations, he has the red button to blast anyone who doesn’t fit into his plans. and it can affect a lot of people. With a five-year contract and a flattering reputation (too much?) In the league, Doc Rivers is rather protected for a while but this is not the case for the workforce (Horford, Harris, Simmons or even Embiid) and especially not the case of GM Elton Brand which risks duplicating the ubiquitous Morey.
What are the priority needs?
With a payroll of nearly 148 million dollars, one can reasonably say that the Sixers have… no flexibility for this Free Agency. Unless making exchanges, it will therefore be necessary to be satisfied with the mid-level exception (estimated at 5.7 million concerning them) or the minimum wage to strengthen. What profile to improve the team? That’s a pretty good question and there is a big point of uncertainty on it. We have to wonder if Ben Simmons will stay in the lead or if he will return to post 4, which could upset the priority needs a little. By imagining the Australian playing 1, we should hope to see Tobias Harris in 4 and suddenly recruit a position 3 with a minimum of outside shoot to offer space to Benny. If, conversely, he returned to his natural position, it is a shooter leader who should land in priority. Goran Dragic, Joe Harris, DJ Augustin, Davis Bertans, Jerami Grant, many could do this team great service, but when it comes to talking big bucks at the negotiating table, Philadelphia could feel stranded. An observation which is all the more true as the bench, one of the least efficient in the league, also needs to be strengthened. Alec Burks, free agent, will have to be kept or replaced because he did the job well in the short time he had (12 points in 20 min, 41% away). One of the many missions that awaits the Morey-Brand duo.
How to re-sell the bulletins contracts?
Between them, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Al Horford and to a lesser extent Josh Richardson weigh 133 million dollars… per year. Players who are therefore expensive but who are also under contract for several years with the exception of the former Heat who will have a player option in a year. Unless Doc Rivers comes up with a miracle formula to get all these beautiful people to play, we’re going to either have to check out or try to find teams to pass them on, especially Harris and Horford. The question is: how do you convince GMs to accept guys over 30 million who are not the first options and who may start to age? To swallow this snake on a board, it will be necessary to coat it in pick or put a good youngster as a bonus. Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz are the most likely to interest people, but it seems improbable to imagine them packing up, especially the first. The Sixers’ luck is that they all have their draft rounds over the next few years. and Daryl Morey will be happy to use them in exchanges. As a reminder, the last player drafted in the first round by the president of Philly was Sam Dekker… in 2015. Suffice to say that it is better to see them elsewhere than in the city of brotherly love.
Lots of questions and little money to spend on Elton Bra… well Daryl Morey. The 4-headed monster built a year ago will be hard to break without making some concessions and we’re curious how the new Sixers guru will go about it.
