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2019 Offseason In Review: Philadelphia 76ers

October 30th, 2019 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Philadelphia 76ers.

Signings:

Standard contracts:
- Tobias Harris: Five years, $180MM. Includes trade kicker of 5% or $5MM (whichever is lesser). Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Al Horford: Four years, $109MM. Fourth year partially guaranteed ($14.5MM). Signed using cap room.
  - Note: Horford’s fourth-year partial guarantee can increase to $19.5MM (if Sixers make Finals in 2020, 2021, or 2022) or can fully guarantee to $26.5MM (if Sixers win Finals in 2020, 2021, or 2022).
- Mike Scott: Two years, $9.77MM. Signed using room exception.
- Shake Milton: Four years, minimum salary. Fourth-year team option. Converted from two-way contract to standard contract using cap room.
- James Ennis: Two years, minimum salary. Second-year player option. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
- Furkan Korkmaz: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
- Raul Neto: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Kyle O’Quinn: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Trey Burke: One year, minimum salary. Partially guaranteed ($405K). Signed using minimum salary exception.
  - Note: Guarantee increased to $810K at start of regular season.
Two-way contracts:
- Norvel Pelle
- Marial Shayok
Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Shizz Alston Jr.: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Jared Brownridge: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Terry Harris: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Haywood Highsmith: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Christ Koumadje: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Isaiah Miles: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Xavier Munford: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Julian Washburn: One year, minimum salary (Waived).

Trades:

Acquired the draft rights to Matisse Thybulle (No. 20 pick) from the Celtics in exchange for the draft rights to Ty Jerome (No. 24 pick) and Carsen Edwards (No. 33 pick).
Acquired cash ($2MM) from the Wizards in exchange for Jonathon Simmons and the draft rights to Admiral Schofield (No. 42 pick).
Acquired Josh Richardson in a four-team trade with the Heat, Clippers, and Trail Blazers in exchange for Jimmy Butler (sign-and-trade; to Heat) and the draft rights to Mathias Lessort (to Clippers).
Acquired the draft rights to Jordan Bone (No. 57 pick), the Hawks’ 2020 second-round pick (56-60 protected), and either the Hawks’, Hornets’, or Nets’ 2023 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable) from the Hawks in exchange for the draft rights to Bruno Fernando (No. 34 pick).
Acquired the Heat’s 2024 second-round pick (top-55 protected) and cash ($2MM) from the Pistons in exchange for the draft rights to Jordan Bone (No. 57 pick).

Draft picks:

1-20: Matisse Thybulle — Signed to rookie contract.
2-54: Marial Shayok — Signed to two-way contract.

Contract extensions:

Ben Simmons: Five years, 25% maximum salary. Projected value of $168,200,000. Starting salary can be worth up to 30% of the cap if Simmons earns All-NBA honors in 2020 (full details). Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2020/21; runs through 2024/25.

Departing players:

Jimmy Butler
Haywood Highsmith (two-way; waived)
Amir Johnson
Boban Marjanovic
T.J. McConnell
Greg Monroe
J.J. Redick
Jonathon Simmons

Other offseason news:

Lost lead assistant coach Monty Williams to Suns; hired Ime Udoka as lead assistant coach.
Hired Roy Hibbert as player development coach.
Renounced 2017 first-round pick Anzejs Pasecniks.
Minority stakeholder David Heller no longer part of ownership group.
Exercised 2020/21 rookie scale option on Zhaire Smith.

Salary cap situation:

Used cap space; now over the cap.
Carrying approximately $128.39MM in salary.
No cap exceptions available.

Story of the summer:

No team had a more crushing end to its 2018/19 campaign than the Sixers, who would have forced overtime and been in position to eke out a second-round series win over the Raptors if Kawhi Leonard‘s miracle Game 7 buzzer-beater hadn’t dropped in after bouncing four times on the rim.

As heartbreaking as that finish was for Philadelphia, the team had to be encouraged by the Raptors’ subsequent wins over the Bucks in the Eastern Finals and the Warriors in the NBA Finals. Neither of those teams forced Toronto to a seventh game, meaning it was Philadelphia that actually gave the eventual champs their biggest scare.

The Sixers appeared to take that silver lining to heart. Rather than buying into theories that the Ben Simmons/Joel Embiid pairing might not work in the long run, the team doubled down on that duo, signing Simmons to a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension. And despite some disappointing postseason showings from Tobias Harris, the 76ers heavily invested in the veteran forward, re-signing him to a five-year, $180MM deal.

Philadelphia likely would’ve been willing to run it back to an even greater degree by retaining Jimmy Butler, but he decided he wanted to head to South Beach, choosing the Heat in free agency. Fortunately for the Sixers, Miami didn’t have the cap room necessary to sign Butler outright and had to cooperate on a sign-and-trade, giving the 76ers the leverage to acquire Josh Richardson in the process.

Then, rather than bringing back sharpshooter and floor-spacer J.J. Redick, the Sixers opted to use their newly-opened cap room to bring aboard Al Horford, a veteran capable of either playing alongside Embiid or stabilizing the team’s defense when the All-NBA center is off the floor.

With Richardson and Horford replacing Butler and Redick in the starting lineup, the 76ers lost a little outside shooting and play-making, but potentially made a strong defense even stronger.

Philadelphia’s size flummoxed just about every Raptors player not named Kawhi Leonard during the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and this year’s starting five – Simmons, Richardson, Harris, Horford, and Embiid – is even bigger. After just missing out on a deep postseason run in 2018/19, the Sixers have gone all-in on their biggest strength for 2019/20.

Key offseason losses:

Butler’s 18.2 PPG during his 55 regular season games in Philadelphia would have been his lowest mark since the 2013/14 season. However, that was more a result of sharing the floor with so many other talented scorers than a sign of declining effectiveness. When both teams’ offenses bogged down in that playoff series against Toronto, Butler was one of the few players on the court capable of creating shots and making plays, a skill set the Sixers will miss.

Redick’s reliable outside shooting will also be missed. A 41.2% career shooter from beyond the arc, Redick made a career-best 3.2 threes per game in 2018/19, forcing opposing defenders to chase him all over the floor to avoid letting him get free for even a second.

Still, while the 76ers may struggle to replace his three-point shooting, Redick was perhaps the only member of the starting group who didn’t have the size and length necessary to create nightmares for opposing scorers. Although his departure removes an offensive threat, it could give the club some extra switching options on defense.

The other departing Sixers were bench players, though McConnell deserves to be singled out for his four seasons with the franchise. He endured a couple ugly years during the rebuild before evolving into a reliable backup point guard for a contender.

Big men Boban Marjanovic, Amir Johnson, and Greg Monroe thrived in certain matchups, but the Sixers had to pick their spots in order to avoid asking them to do too much. Jonathon Simmons, part of the return in the Markelle Fultz trade, was decent down the stretch but fell out of the rotation in the postseason.

Key offseason additions:

The Sixers’ signing of Horford made sense for both the team and the player. For Horford, joining the 76ers represented a chance to contend for a title, maximize his earnings, and see more time at power forward, his preferred position. For Philadelphia, it meant securing an insurance policy for Embiid.

Even if Embiid manages to stay healthy all season – which certainly isn’t a sure thing – the Sixers struggled when he went to the bench, posting a -3.5 net rating during the regular season. Those numbers got even worse during the playoffs — and became downright comical vs. the Raptors in round two. Philadelphia had a +18.6 net rating in the 237 minutes Embiid played against Toronto and a -52.5 net rating in the 99 minutes he sat. That was the season right there.

In Horford, the Sixers get a two-way difference-maker who will make the right play on offense and won’t let the defense fall apart when Embiid isn’t out there.

Richardson is the other new starter and was a nice get for the Sixers, as he’ll be under contract for at least two more seasons at a reasonable price. It was just a year ago that the Heat balked at including him in a deal for Butler. They changed their stance this summer after Richardson’s shooting efficiency slipped in 2018/19, but as a secondary play-maker and scorer in Philadelphia, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Richardson get those numbers back closer to where they were in 2017/18 (.451/.378/.845). And while he might not be the defender Butler is, the drop-off isn’t substantial.

The Sixers’ offseason focus on defense was also reflected in their first-round draft pick, Matisse Thybulle. The two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year posted eye-popping numbers during his final year at Washington, averaging 3.5 steals per game to go along with 2.3 blocks. Although he probably won’t match those numbers at the NBA level, the viral clips of Thybulle’s defensive highlights early in his rookie season suggest he’s going to be just fine going up against the best scorers in the world.

The Sixers also added Trey Burke, Raul Neto, and Kyle O’Quinn on minimum-salary deals for depth purposes. They likely won’t see major minutes if the team’s primary rotation players stay healthy.

Outlook for 2019/20:

Depending on how you feel about Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s supporting cast in Milwaukee, you could make a strong case that the Sixers have the best starting lineup and rotation in the East.

While it might take a couple in-season tweaks – including adding a shooter – for Philadelphia to maximize its ceiling, it’s hard to imagine this team not finishing at or near the top of the conference and winning a couple playoff series in the East. If it all comes together and the 76ers have some good health luck, an appearance in the NBA Finals may even be in the cards.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Windhorst: Sixers Could Use A Shooter

October 30th, 2019 at 9:47am CST by Luke Adams

Windhorst believes the Sixers would like to add a shooter — not a star, but someone who can reliably knock down three-pointers and space the floor. While Philadelphia may ultimately turn to the buyout market, the club has several extra second-round picks available if a trade target emerges.

[SOURCE LINK]

Poll: Which Team Will Stay Undefeated Longest?

October 29th, 2019 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

No NBA team has played more than four games in the first seven days of the 2019/20 regular season, but only four clubs didn’t lose during that stretch. The Sixers, Nuggets, Spurs, and Timberwolves are all 3-0.

It’s no surprise that Philadelphia and Denver are off to strong starts. Both teams are expected to finish near the top of their respective conferences this season — I had them as the No. 1 seeds in my preseason predictions.

However, the early three-game winning streaks from San Antonio and Minnesota are a little more unexpected. Neither team has had a brutal schedule to start the season, with the Spurs picking up home wins vs. the Knicks, Wizards, and Trail Blazers, while the Wolves won in Brooklyn, in Charlotte, and at home against the Heat.

Still, their hot starts have been promising. Karl-Anthony Towns is putting up MVP-caliber numbers in the early going for the Wolves (32.0 PPG, 13.3 RPG). The Spurs have had a more balanced attack, led by DeMar DeRozan (22.0 PPG) and LaMarcus Aldridge (21.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG) and complemented by players like now-healthy guard Dejounte Murray (14.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 6.0 APG).

The four undefeated teams have the following games on tap as they look to extend their winning streaks to start the season:

Sixers: vs. Min (10/30), @ Por (11/2), @ Phx (11/4), @ Utah (11/6), @ Den (11/8)
Nuggets: vs. Dal (10/29), @ NO (10/31), @ Orl (11/2), vs. Mia (11/5), vs. Phi (11/8)
Spurs: @ LAC (10/31), @ GSW (11/1), vs. LAL (11/3), @ Atl (11/5), vs. OKC (11/7)
Timberwolves: @ Phi (10/30), @ Wash (11/2), vs. Mil (11/4), @ Mem (11/6), vs. GSW (11/8)

The Spurs have a brutal three-game stretch on tap beginning on Thursday, though at least one of the Sixers or Wolves will have lost a game by that point, as those two teams are set to face one another on Wednesday. Even if the 76ers beat Minnesota, they have a tough Western road trip up next, with games in Portland, Phoenix, and Utah before they’d get a chance to face Denver. Of course, the Nuggets’ schedule isn’t exactly a cakewalk up until that point either, starting tonight vs. Luka Doncic and the Mavs.

What do you think? Which of this season’s undefeated teams will keep its streak going the longest and be the last to lose in 2019/20?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your two cents!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 10/28/19

October 28th, 2019 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every night during the NBA G League season, Hoops Rumors provides the assignments and recalls by each team. With training camps now open, here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the G League:

Bulls swingman Chandler Hutchison was assigned to the Windy City Bulls, the Bulls’ PR department tweets. Hutchison, who recently had his contract option for the 2020/21 season picked up, is working his way back from a hamstring injury.
As expected, the Grizzlies assigned former lottery pick Josh Jackson to the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ PR department tweets. That was the plan all along when Memphis acquired the former Suns forward this offseason and he attempts to jump-start his career.
Undrafted rookie guard Jalen Lecque was assigned to Northern Arizona by the Suns, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
The Jazz assigned Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The rookie guard out of Yale was selected with the 58th overall pick in June.
The Timberwolves assigned forward Keita Bates-Diop, guard Jaylen Nowell and center Naz Reid to their Iowa affiliate, according to a team press release. Bates-Diop was a second-round selection last year, while Nowell was chosen in the second round this June. Reid is an undrafted rookie out of LSU.
The Mavericks assigned rookie forward Isaiah Roby to the Texas Legends, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Roby, who played at Nebraska, was chosen in the second round in June and acquired in a draft-night deal.
The Sixers assigned swingman Zhaire Smith to the Delaware Blue Coats, the team’s PR department tweets. Smith, a 2018 first-round selection, recently had his 2020/21 contract option picked up by Philadelphia even though he missed most of his rookie campaign due to injuries.
The Hornets assigned rookie forward Jalen McDaniels to the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. McDaniels, a second-round pick, made his NBA debut on Friday.

Signing Jamal Crawford Could Make Sense For Sixers

October 27th, 2019 at 8:03pm CST by JD Shaw

Signing Jamal Crawford could make a lot of sense for the Sixers, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer contends. Crawford, who remains a free agent one week into the NBA season, averaged 7.9 points off the bench for the Suns last year. He’s currently represented by agent Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management.

Celtics Notes: Horford, Brown, Walker

October 23rd, 2019 at 6:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

Al Horford is wearing an opponent’s uniform as the Celtics open their season tonight, but his influence can still be felt in Boston’s locker room, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Horford was an inspirational leader during his three seasons with the Celtics, and he remains close to many of the players who are still there. Marcus Smart said Horford kept texting him even after signing with the Sixers.

“He made my job way easier. His experience helped me out,” Smart said. “He showed me things and taught me things that I had to learn probably on my own like other guys, but I had help from him. Having Al over those years definitely helped me to be a professional and to be more professional.”

The players Bulpett talked to all seem to understand Horford’s decision to leave, even though he landed with a bitter division rival. Philadelphia gave him a four-year, $109MM contract with $97MM guaranteed, which is more than the Celtics were willing to offer.

“That was a smart decision,” Jayson Tatum said. “He got a lot of money, which he deserved. Everybody should do what makes them happy, so I’m happy for Al.”

There’s more Celtics news on opening night:

Although he might have gotten a bigger contract by waiting for restricted free agency next summer, Jaylen Brown likes the security of signing with the Celtics now, tweets Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. Brown’s negotiations went down to the wire before he agreed to a four-year, $115MM rookie scale extension on Monday. “Boston is a top-five organization in this league,” Brown said. “Once I got to look at the offer in front of me, it was easy.”
Executives around the league had a mixed response to Brown’s extension, according to Justin Leger of NBC Sports Boston. One thought it was too much money to commit, while another understands because it includes $12MM in incentives. An agent questioned why the team felt it was necessary to reach a deal now rather than waiting for the summer.
Kemba Walker tells A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston that he’s ready for life in a bigger market with greater expectations. “This is what I wanted, the opportunity I wanted,” Walker said. “I’m happy to be here.”

Increased Partial Guarantee For Trey Burke

October 23rd, 2019 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

ESPN’s Bobby Marks provides some financial details on the rookie scale extensions signed on Monday, outlining (via Twitter) exactly how much bonus money is included in five of those deals. Marks also identifies four players who will receive increased partial guarantees as a result of remaining under contract with their respective teams through Wednesday (Twitter link). Those players are Christian Wood (Pistons), Jordan McRae (Wizards), Kendrick Nunn (Heat), and Trey Burke (Sixers).

Sixers Sign, Waive Five Players

October 19th, 2019 at 1:01pm CST by Luke Adams

1:01pm: In a press release, Philadelphia has confirmed all the roster moves detailed below and announced a couple more. According to the Sixers, in addition to signing and waiving Washburn, Alston, and Harris, they also signed and waived guards Jared Brownridge and Xavier Munford.

Brownridge played for the Delaware Blue Coats last season and Munford’s rights were acquired by Delaware last month, so they’d both be returning-rights players for the Blue Coats.

10:23am: The Sixers have signed and subsequently waived Julian Washburn, Shizz Alston Jr., and Terry Harris, according to reports. Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) first reported the signings, while Derek Bodner of The Athletic (Twitter link) indicated that all three players had already been released.

Alston is a 6’4″ guard who went undrafted out of Temple this spring after averaging 19.7 PPG and 5.0 APG as a senior. Harris, another undrafted rookie, is the younger brother of Sixers forward Tobias Harris. The former North Carolina A&T swingman played for the 76ers’ Summer League team in July.

As for Washburn, the 6’8″ forward spend much of the 2018/19 season on a two-way contract with the Grizzlies before he was dealt to Golden State in the Andre Iguodala deal. The Warriors waived him and the Sixers’ G League affiliate – the Delaware Blue Coats – acquired his returning rights last month.

Alston and Harris will join the Blue Coats as affiliate players, while Washburn will be a returning-rights player for the squad. As a result of their brief stays on the Sixers’ roster, they should also be eligible for Exhibit 10 bonuses worth up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days in Delaware.

The Sixers had cleared space on the roster for these three players by waiving Isaiah Miles, Christ Koumadje and Haywood Highsmith, as we detailed on Friday night.

Sixers Waive Miles, Koumadje, Highsmith

October 18th, 2019 at 9:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers are waiving Isaiah Miles, Christ Koumadje and Haywood Highsmith, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

That will reduce their roster to 17 players. There are no surprises with these moves, as all three had non-guaranteed contracts. Trey Burke has a partially guaranteed deal, while 14 others have full guarantees to go along with Philadelphia’s two-way players.

The Sixers hold the G League rights to the trio and they’re expected to play for the Delaware Blue Coats.

Miles, who went undrafted out of St. Joe’s in 2016, has played professionally overseas during the last three years. The 6’7” forward has spent time with teams in France and Turkey, having played for Limoges CSP in 2018/19.

The 7’4″ Koumadje, a Florida State alum, played for Philadelphia’s summer league team after going undrafted. He played four seasons with the Seminoles and started all 37 games as a senior.

Highsmith, a small forward who went undrafted out of Wheeling Jesuit in 2018, signed a two-way contract with Philadelphia in January and spent the remainder of his rookie season with the 76ers and the Blue Coats.

Sixers Wanted Richardson Last Season

October 18th, 2019 at 9:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers were interested in acquiring Josh Richardson last season from the Heat before they traded for Jimmy Butler, Michael Lee of The Athletic reports. The Sixers were open to being a third party when the Heat were in trade talks with the Timberwolves for Butler with Philadelphia targeting Richardson. When those talks collapsed, the Sixers eventually worked out a trade for Butler. Those two swingmen were the main components of the sign-and-trade this summer when Butler agreed to join Miami.

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