After the Philadelphia 76ers fell to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the sentiment around the team was that they were in need of some toughness. They discussed at nausea how more mature they need to be in order to achieve their goals.
Joel Embiid went so far as to say the team needed a P.J. Tucker type of player. Tucker had just knocked the Sixers off as he was able to get under the skin of a lot of Philadelphia’s main players and he made some timely plays on both ends of the floor in order to help them win that series.
Now that Tucker will opt out of his deal with the Heat to enter free agency, the thought process around the league is that the Sixers will certainly make a run at him. They are beginning to try and clear cap space to sign him.
Now, Tucker could just re-sign with Miami, but per NBA veteran reporter Marc Stein via his substack, the Sixers are considered the favorites should he be ready to leave the Heat:
If P.J. Tucker is prepared to leave Miami, Philadelphia is regarded as by far the favorite to sign him away, league sources say. Tucker is poised to receive a three-year, $30 million contract offer in free agency from Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, GM for Tucker’s first three seasons in Houston
Of course, the Sixers will not be the only team interested in Tucker’s services. There will be plenty of contenders who will want to add him to their roster and there will be a bidding war for him.
Miami Heat forward PJ Tucker is expected to have interest from multiple contending teams willing to offer the full midlevel exception once free-agency commences, league sources tell @YahooSports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 22, 2022
It will be interesting what the Sixers do on draft night on Thursday as they look to make moves in order to position themselves well for free agency at the end of June.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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