2017 NBA Offseason Review: Philadelphia 76ers
The Process Comes to Fruition

It’s been almost five years since Sam Hinkie took over the General Manager role of the 76ers in 2013, and even though he isn’t in charge anymore, his legacy lives on. It has been a long five seasons of tanking, but the 76ers finally have a core full of potential superstars in Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and now Markelle Fultz. It’s been a long cold winter Philly fans, but the future might finally be here.
Key Losses
There were no key losses in terms of players for the 76ers, who let Thiago Splitter (he was on the 76ers??), Sergio Rodriguez (he was still in the NBA??), Alex Poythress (who??), and Gerald Henderson walk. Not sure if any of these players qualify as losses.
What they did lose was an asset; In their trade for Markelle Fultz, they gave Boston either next year’s Laker’s pick if its between spots 2 and 5, or an unprotected Kings first round pick in 2019. Keep this in mind if either Jayson Tatum, Lonzo Ball or any of the deep crop of guards later in the first round (ie. Summer League stars Dennis Smith Jr., Donovan Mitchell) surpass Fultz. Those two guards in particular would have been a reach at number three where they would have picked before trading up for the number one pick. If Fultz isn’t the best guard in the draft AND they lose a valuable asset for him, that trade could look really bad.
Key Additions
That being said, Markelle Fultz was the consensus best player in the NBA Draft this year. Fultz has almost no faults as a player; he shot 41% from three in college, he averaged 1.2 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, so at his worst he’s a 3-and-D guard. He doesn’t need to have the ball in his hands to be successful in the NBA, slotting in perfectly next to point-forward and ball handler Ben Simmons. He was by far the best fit of any player in the draft for the 76ers because of how versatile his game is.
The 76ers also got experienced veterans to sign up to play with the young core on short term deals. By signing J.J. Redick to a one year, $23 million contract, they keep their long-term cap flexibility open, and bring in one of the league’s best three point shooters. All Redick will have to do on offense is provide space on the floor for Embiid, Simmons and Fultz.

There is a lot of red behind the three point line, as Redick is a great veteran to specifically pair with Ben Simmons, who is a notoriously bad shooter. Redick is great moving off the ball and shooting off of screens.

And even with less capable offensive players like Luc Mbah a Moute finding him and setting the screen.

Redick catches Joe Ingles sleeping and runs right behind his back to get just a little space to get off a three. Redick is a toy for Ben Simmons to play with. Check out how Simmons finds the open man in the corner for a wide open three in last year’s Summer League.

Simmons could have handed the ball to the shooter right next to him and set a pick, just like Mbah a Moute did for Redick. But Simmons is has such an unbelievable eye for the floor and creative passer that he found the wide open man in the corner. Redick is very aware off the ball and will be ready for Simmons to find him. A lineup surrounding Ben Simmons with Fultz, Embiid, Redick and Robert Covington, four very good shooters, is going to be great to watch.
The other key addition the 76ers made was analytics darling Amir Johnson on a 1 year, $11 million a year contract. Johnson was a starter for the number 1 seed Boston Celtics last year, but played sparingly in the playoffs. Johnson has been an elite defensive player really his whole career in the league. By ESPN’s Real Plus Minus last year, Amir Johnson was 21st in the entire league at +3.80. This was almost entirely due to his defensive Real Plus Minus, in which he ranked 9th in the league.
Johnson rates so well defensively because of his elite rebounding percentage (13%, 75th percentile in the league) and block percentage (3.2%, almost 80th percentile in the league). He is definitely slow at this point in his career, but he is a minutes eater who makes his team better when he’s on the floor.
He can provide toughness for a young 76ers team like he had on the Raptors a few years ago, and the Celtics the last couple years. New teammate Jahlil Okafor, who actually has similar rebound and block percentages to Johnson but is an awful defensive player, could learn a lot from a big like Johnson who does all the little things on defense.
Outlook
The 76ers on paper are one of the league’s most exciting young teams. One of the criticisms of them the last few years was that they had no veterans to teach the young players. They now have Redick and Johnson, who can be instrumental in teaching the core of Embiid, Simmons and Fultz. Redick’s shooting and creative off-ball movement will be huge for the offense development of Fultz and especially Simmons.
The 76ers are winners this offseason right now, but there are still real question marks. Embiid is already one of the best players in the league when he’s on the court, but may never to play more than 30 games in a year because of his body. Simmons already hurt his foot, and although it seems like a fluke injury, there is a bad history of foot injuries for NBA big guys (ie. Yao Ming, Bill Walton). Fultz could have bad chemistry, as he was homeschooled, does not talk to players during games, and was picked ahead of Lonzo Ball, who might be transcendent. Jahlil Okafor has been a disaster, on and off the court. The core is promising, but it hasn’t proved itself yet. The sky is the limit in Philly, but there is real potential for disaster. NBA fans can’t wait to find out which one it will be.
