The Philadelphia 76ers had a busy offseason. They brought in De’Anthony Melton, PJ Tucker and Danuel House Jr. to improve their depth and the supporting cast around stars Joel Embiid and James Harden.
The Sixers needed more toughness as well as players who can produce on both ends of the floor. They accomplished those goals, and they signed Harden to a deal that keeps him in town on a much cheaper price tag.
ESPN has given out its offseason grades for the Eastern Conference and gave the Sixers an A grade:
Having added James Harden at the trade deadline, the Sixers had an opportunity to reset their roster around Harden and incumbent starters Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey this offseason. Harden’s decision to decline a $47.2 million player option and sign for a lower starting salary — something ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported last week the NBA will investigate for tampering — gave Philadelphia the ability to use the non-taxpayer midlevel exception to add Tucker.
In addition to Tucker, the 76ers also signed fellow former Houston Rocket Danuel House Jr. and acquired De’Anthony Melton in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. The result is a deeper Philadelphia option with more two-way contributors to put around the stars.
At the moment, the Sixers have a very strong roster on paper. Embiid is one of the top players in the league regardless of position, Harden still has such a huge impact on the game and he looks healthy in workouts, Tyrese Maxey is a rising star, and Tobias Harris does it all. Given that core and the additions, the Sixers should certainly be in the mix for the Eastern Conference crown in the 2023 playoffs.
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