It has been nine days since free agency began on Aug. 2. Now that the dust has settled, some fresh power rankings are coming out before training camp begins on Sep. 28.
The Philadelphia 76ers did not make many big moves, but they made moves around the margins to get the right role players around their star duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. They brought back Furkan Korkmaz and Danny Green on team-friendly deals and brought in Andre Drummond and Georges Niang on smaller deals.
The Sixers are still taking trade calls on Simmons, so they are not exactly done making moves, but they have made enough to include them in some power rankings.
Bleacher Report has the Sixers ranked 8th in its latest edition:
It feels wrong to judge the Sixers at this point, knowing there’s a Ben Simmons trade likely looming at some point this offseason.
Joel Embiid’s durability can be questioned, but he’s worked himself into an MVP candidate who could also win Defensive Player of the Year. Tobias Harris is still under contract for the next three years, and Danny Green returns on a team-friendly, two-year, $20 million deal.
Getting Andre Drummond on the veteran’s minimum is an incredible value for his rebounding alone, and there’s plenty of upside from other members of the bench (Matisse Thybulle, Tyrese Maxey, Shake Milton).
Even if the Sixers bring back Simmons, they are still going to have a strong case to win a championship. This team was the No. 1 seed in the 2020-21 season so it just has to get over the hump to chase its championship goal.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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