Richaun Holmes – Syndication Server

Complete list of backup centers Sixers have employed behind Joel Embiid

Here is a complete list of the backup centers the Philadelphia 76ers have employed behind star big man Joel Embiid.

The Philadelphia 76ers have been one of the top teams in the East since Joel Embiid stepped onto the floor for them in the 2016-17 season. The big fella has been the transcendent star the franchise needed to regain relevancy in the league.

The backup center spot has been a bit of an adventure for the franchise. They have cycled through a lot of different options behind Embiid looking for the right combination on the floor. Some have been duds and others have been solid players.

In Embiid’s seven seasons with the Sixers, Philadelphia has employed a number of backup centers, and it appears as though there will be a new backup in the 2023-24 season, veteran Mo Bamba. It was Paul Reed in 2022-23, but it appears he could get a look at power forward under new coach Nick Nurse.

Here are all the backup centers during the Embiid era:

Free Agency: What’s next for the Kings with $35 million cap space?

How the Sacramento Kings could use $35 million in cap space to improve the team and renegotiate and extend Domantas Sabonis.

The Sacramento Kings are heading into the offseason looking to build off their successful 2022-23 campaign. They entered last night’s draft with the 24th overall selection, which they could’ve used to add another building block toward their future. Instead, they traded the pick and Richaun Holmes to the Dallas Mavericks for nothing. While the deal may look bad from a value proposition, the Kings clearly prioritized getting off Holmes and the remaining two years, $26.7 million left on his deal.

This trade also accomplished another thing: they’re now a cap space team. They project to have $33-36 million in cap space, which should be more than enough to acquire an impact player or two while potentially renegotiating and extending the expiring contract of Domantas Sabonis.

4 backup center options Sixers should look into before trade deadline

Here are four backup center options the Philadelphia 76ers should look into before the Feb. 9 trade deadline.

The Feb. 9 trade deadline is right around the corner in the NBA. Now is the time for every team to figure out how it wants to handle the deadline and how they are going to move forward.

The Philadelphia 76ers, led by stars Joel Embiid and James Harden, have their eyes set on a title. Their starting lineup is one of the best in the league, and they have some really good role players in the supporting cast.

However, that pesky backup center spot continues to be an issue. Montrezl Harrell has been great offensively but not so great defensively. It’s obvious Paul Reed hasn’t earned the trust of the coaching staff.

Therefore, the Sixers should probably make a move at the deadline. Here are four options that make sense for the Sixers:

Every player in Philadelphia 76ers history who has worn No. 22

Here is a list of all 16 players in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers who have worn the No. 22 uniform.

It’s summertime in the NBA, so it’s time to learn some history. The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the older franchises in the NBA. Their history dates to the 1949-50 season.

With that longevity, the team has had hundreds of players come through the City of Brotherly Love. Sixers Wire looks at the No. 22 which has been worn by 16 of those players in the history of the franchise.

This running series will go through all of the uniform numbers worn in franchise history. The previous edition of this series was a list compiling the 30 players who have worn the No. 23.

Here is the list of the 16 who have worn No. 22 in Sixers history:

A list of the backup centers Sixers have employed behind Joel Embiid

Here is a list of the backup centers the Philadelphia 76ers have employed during the Joel Embiid era.

The biggest issue has been the backup center spot. The Sixers have not settled on one guy who can give positive, productive minutes behind Embiid so the big fella can rest.

In Embiid’s six seasons with the Sixers, Philadelphia has employed a number of backup centers, and it appears as though there will be a new backup in the 2022-23 season, young Paul Reed.

Here are all the backup centers during the Embiid era.

Sam Vecenie, Danny Leroux suggest a group of players the Thunder should consider going after in offseason

The goal would be to add more draft picks by swallowing bad multi-year contracts.

The Game Theory Podcast recently had an episode with the host Sam Vecenie and guest Danny Leroux where both discussed potential offseason moves they suggest the Oklahoma City Thunder should think about.

The most common move they suggested included the Thunder absorbing bad contracts with draft assets attached to them. The argument behind it is that the Thunder finished the 2021-22 season with the lowest team payroll and by a significant margin at just $82 million — for context, the 29th ranked Memphis Grizzlies had a payroll of $117.3 million.

While it makes sense on paper that a rebuilding team with the lowest team payroll would welcome being the dumping ground for bad contracts if they received draft picks in return, a multi-year contract is a heavy pill that I doubt Thunder ownership and general manager Sam Presti want to swallow. Especially if the team wants to start contending in the near future.

Presti noted it during his exit interview, but the team wants their books as clean as possible in time for the 2023 CBA negotiations. Adding a multi-year contract onto the books for a player that is most likely on the decline is the opposite of that and would limit the team’s financial flexibility.

With that said, let’s take a look at some of the players Vecenie and Leroux suggested during their pod when discussing potential offseason moves for the Thunder.

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Danny Leroux thinks Richaun Holmes would be a great frontcourt fit with Chet Holmgren for the Thunder

“Richaun Holmes is exactly the right level of player who can help Oklahoma City but not fundamentally change their future.”

Dunc’d On’s Danny Leroux recently went on the “Game Theory” podcast with The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie to discuss offseason previews for NBA teams in the southwest and northwest divisions. When talking about the Oklahoma City Thunder, Leroux threw out the idea of the team potentially acquiring Richaun Holmes to be a short-term frontcourt partner with Chet Holmgren.

“Richaun Holmes is exactly the right level of player who can help Oklahoma City but not fundamentally change their future. He makes you better, he gives you pieces to evaluate. Let’s say if they end up with Chet (Holmgren), then you can play Chet at either spot it’s gonna work out in. There isn’t a center for me personally on OKC’s team right now that I love. I could see something like that with Holmgren if he ends up being the pick. Bridging the gap, Holmes isn’t making so much money and there are a bunch of Richaun Holmes level players all around the league on teams that could use a little more flexibility or don’t need that player in particular.”

Holmes averaged 10.4 points and seven rebounds on 66 percent shooting and 40 percent three-point shooting in 45 games with the Sacramento Kings last season.

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Kings-Lakers recap: Sacramento comeback spoils LeBron’s return

The Lakers lost a 10-point lead after three quarters to the Sacramento Kings on Friday night.

The Sacramento Kings spoiled what was supposed to be a celebratory night for the Los Angeles Lakers with a 110-106 comeback victory. The Lakers led 88-78 after three quarters only to lose in the final period. Tyrese Haliburton was the star for Sacramento, finishing with 23 points and 10 assists. LeBron James finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and five turnovers in 32 minutes of action.

The Kings took a 106-101 lead with just under two minutes left on a 3-pointer from Terence Davis. A 3-pointer by LeBron James cut the lead back to 106-104 but nevertheless, the Lakers were in the unexpected position of playing from behind against a Kings without two of their top three leading scorers.

A block by Anthony Davis gave the Lakers new life with 20 seconds left down 108-106. The Kings stopped the potential transition opportunity, forcing LeBron James to call a timeout with seven seconds left.

These are the best players at each offensive play type in the NBA

When we talk about the best basketball players, we often talk about the most well-rounded. But what happens when we get a bit more granular?

There is obviously a ton of value in versatility, especially when it comes to building the most complete team. Players need to be able to hold their own on both offense and defense. However, when watching the games, it is also incredibly important to know the specific traits of the top talents.

As such, we wanted to take a look at the players who stand out on specific play types within an offense. The main qualifications were that the player discussed has to be both among the leading scorers and also efficient on this particular play type.

You may already know that James Harden is the king of isolation or that Giannis Antetokounmpo is a monster in transition. But some other standouts included below may be more shocking.

Note that all stats are pulled from Synergy Sports Tech unless noted otherwise

Season leaps: This is where players have improved the most this year

Before he signed with the Detroit Pistons, no one would have ever expected Jerami Grant to be so good at creating for himself.

Every year, it is fascinating to track the incredible progress that players around the league have made during their most recent offseason.

Considering that the NBA is home to some of the best athletes in the world, it’s always remarkable to see how these world-class find ways to get better and develop their games.

The league clearly loves it, too, and celebrated these accomplishments by introducing the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award (MIP) back in 1985.

Earlier this season, we have written about the impressive strides we have seen from 2020-21 MIP candidates Julius Randle (playmaking) and Jordan Clarkson (shot selection and efficiency) thus far. We have also highlighted the most improved players on each team, including first-time All-Stars Zach LaVine and Jaylen Brown.

But we wanted to highlight some of the ways that certain individuals have gotten better at distinct elements of their game since last season as well.