Just as it sounds. Philadelphia has long marked the 2023-24 season as one of transition; Yes, it sounds strange when you have the current MVP in your ranks, but that’s how it was. The Pennsylvania organization understood that its options in the market were limited and that these would grow enormously in the summer of 2024 by having a large salary space and first-round picks to negotiate. Well, with this whole scenario brewing, journalist Marc Stein points out that the 76ers have two big objectives, including recovering a former player from the team.
Philadelphia’s strategy is clear. Looking ahead to the 2024-25 campaign, it only has Joel Embiid under contract, so the flexibility is immense to the point of being able to have up to $70 million in salary margin. Obviously they will re-sign Tyrese Maxey for the maximum, but this move will only come when everything else is done, including the acquisition of an All-Star.
The Sixers’ plan A seems to be aimed at convincing Paul George as a free agent. Although the veteran forward could be inclined to continue at home with the Clippers, we still have to check what the franchise’s idea is, and even if PG finally understands that the best thing for the final stretch of his career – he has just fulfilled 34 years – is changing teams. This would be the easy way. You put money on the table and take the player, but the aforementioned journalist emphasizes that according to his sources there is another possible way to carry out the ‘reconstruction’ that those in Pennsylvania want.
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Citing executives from other NBA organizations, Stein points out that belief is beginning to grow about seeing Philadelphia trying to mount a transfer to acquire the services of Jimmy Butler, an option that the franchise likes a lot but that seems really complicated, since He has a contract until the 2025-26 season (player option for $52.4 million) and is also the star of the Miami Heat, a team that remains to be seen if he would like to negotiate.
In any case, Butler seems to be option B. Also being 34 years old – he will be 35 at the start of the next season – everything indicates that they will only go for him if free agency does not give them the possibility of getting what they really want. And yes, there will be other fish in the sea like DeMar DeRozan, another All-Star veteran who should help them be better, but perhaps not as much as they want.
The memory of the 2018-19 academic year
Philadelphia has been to the Eastern Conference semifinals five times in the last seven years. Exactly, the Sixers have been a team that has considered taking the big leap on many occasions; Of course, none like the one from the 2018-19 campaign. At that time, and after acquiring Jimmy Butler from Minnesota, the team led by Brett Brown from the bench had a real chance of being champion; so much so that they fell only because of that iconic basket by Kawhi Leonard in the seventh game against the Toronto Raptors, the team that would finally win the ring.
That movie didn’t last long. A Butler who seemed dissatisfied with the work ethic of his teammates decided to go to Miami with Pat Riley and the Sixers fell behind while they saw the pair formed by Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons blow up. Now, five years later, they want to make their last big bet with the MVP as a pillar. Will it be with Jimmy’s return?
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(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
2024-05-06 07:00:00
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