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The Philadelphia 76ers crash and burned in the 2019-20 season as they came up extremely short of the high expectations the team had for itself after making huge moves in the 2019 offseason.
A season such as this one brings inevitable change as coach Brett Brown was the first domino to fall in an offseason of changes for the team. There are expected to be changes within the front office and changes to a roster that was clunky on offense all season.
This does not include Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid as the team looks to move forward with them. The focus then turns to Tobias Harris and Al Horford as they are the two highest-paid players on the team and they both came up small in the playoffs against the Boston Celtics. The logical decision would be to try and move at least one of the two to try and get out of their bloated contracts–Horford is set to make $27.5 million next season and Harris is at $34.4 million.
However, how exactly will that be done? In order to move deals such as those, assets must be attached. That means attaching picks to sweeten deals or possibly even attach a young player with potential i.e. Matisse Thybulle.
At the moment, Philadelphia’s stable of assets is a little bare. The only pieces they can truly turn to are guys like Josh Richardson, Thybulle, Zhaire Smith, and the draft picks. The only one who would really stand out is Thybulle and maybe Richardson.
Bleacher Report put it this way:
Josh Richardson alone doesn’t cut it after the season he just had, and his $11.6 million salary cannot be readily worked into deals headlined by a $27.5 million or $34.4 million player. Zhaire Smith’s value peaked on draft night 2018. The No. 21 pick probably isn’t enough to spice up the pot on its own.
Future firsts and Matisse Thybulle project as the most powerful sweeteners. Thybulle proved himself a not just pesky but omnipresent defender during his rookie campaign.
General manager Elton Brand will probably have to bite the bullet and hope that a new coach can get the most out of this roster. Harris and Horford are still good players who can help this team win, but the new coach will have to find the fit and make it all work. A point guard would definitely help unless the team continues to roll with young Shake Milton there and continue to develop him on the floor. [lawrence-related id=37812,37808,37804]