One Big Question For Each Sixers Player
One Big Question For Each Sixers Player
Let’s evaluate the significant questions that are presenting themselves regarding each member of the 2021-22 Philadelphia 76ers.
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
With yet another pivotal offseason looming, the Sixers have quite a few tasks they need to achieve in between now and next October. There are loads of questions about how Daryl Morey’s front office will approach this summer. Many of those questions surround potential free agency and trade options that will become available at the start of July.
Every successful offseason begins looking inward -- the front office must form an accurate, critical breakdown of the existing pieces that are in place. In that vein, let’s evaluate the significant questions that are presenting themselves regarding each member of the 2021-22 Philadelphia 76ers.
James Harden: Player option, team-friendly deal or max?
I’m not sure there is a single person comfortable with the idea of handing Harden a max contract. And given the way he has regressed over the last two seasons, my guess is that the Sixers won’t have to.
If we are going to assume Harden won’t command a max offer anywhere else -- which seems like a good bet, given the current financial landscape of the league -- it really becomes interesting.
Harden has a player option for next season worth nearly $47 million, an option that, if picked up, would make him the NBA’s fourth-highest paid player next season. In that sense, it may seem like a no-brainer for Harden to pick up the option. That’s where things become difficult to navigate.
Nobody will question the decision if Harden ensures that massive amount of money for next season. But what if his game deteriorates again next year, he has another subpar playoff performance and all of a sudden is hitting free agency again while his value is at its all-time low?
This is why, in my view, the most likely outcome here is Harden taking a deal with considerably less money per year than the $47 million player option, but for multiple years -- let’s say, for the sake of the hypothetical, something like three years and somewhere between $100 million and $120 million.
It seems almost definite that Harden will be back in a Sixers uniform next season. How he and the team handle this player option and potential free agency, however, remains a mystery.
Tobias Harris: Is his playoff defense the new normal?
Harris’ approval rating in Philadelphia is the highest it’s ever been, and for good reason. Harris finally made the changes to his offensive game that were necessary in order to optimize his abilities -- namely becoming a much more decisive spot-up shooter and less methodical ball-handler.
Where Harris surprised a lot of people, though, was on the defensive end. Harris did an admirable job defending Pascal Siakam and Jimmy Butler in the playoffs, in both series being the primary defender on the other team’s best player.
Harris was never a bad defensive player, and he’s probably never going to make an All-Defense team. But his leap from passable to actively helpful on that end of the floor was a revelation for a Sixers team that could use some more consistent wing defense.
Joel Embiid: Is DPOY next?This is the best I can do with Embiid, who has been absurdly dominant over the last two seasons. Embiid has turned his perceived weaknesses into strengths, and his strengths have transcended what any reasonable spectators could have ever expected from him.
Embiid has finished as the runner-up to Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets in the MVP race in each of the last two seasons. Embiid did make up for that this season by winning the scoring title, averaging a ridiculous 30.6 points per game across 68 contests.
So, can Embiid follow up his historic offensive season with a historic defensive season? It’s a tall task, but at this point it’s the only thing I can come up with that Embiid can do to further etch his name in NBA lore.
Danny Green: Traded, or George Hill 2.0?
The Sixers have to move quickly with Green, whose $10 million salary for next season becomes guaranteed if he is not waived before July 1, 2022. Given the extent of Green’s knee injury, it’s hard to imagine the Sixers carrying someone with that cap hit who is going to miss the vast majority of the season.
That leaves them with two options: use Green’s healthy salary to help facilitate a trade for someone who can be a contributor next season, or simply waive him.
If this sounds familiar, that’s because the Sixers had a similar decision to make with George Hill last offseason. They ultimately waived him rather than using his salary to make a move. This was a move I have long believed was a mistake. And I would argue that making a trade being the right call is even more obvious this year, as Green’s salary is more than enough for the Sixers to either find one very valuable contributor, or perhaps multiple role players if they are able to use draft picks or young players as sweeteners.
Furkan Korkmaz and Shake Milton: 2019-2021 or 2021-22?Korkmaz and Milton both established themselves as reliable offensive players off the bench in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Last season, however, was disappointing for both of them.
Milton had his moments, but for the most part was ineffective. Korkmaz’s season was a complete disaster, as his typically great shooting evaporated.
When Milton is at his best, he is a high-quality third guard, someone who can run your offense in spurts but flourish as a secondary ball-handler with the shooting ability to knock down open looks and the craftiness to attack closeouts and score in the mid-range. This season, though, he often faded into the background and didn’t do much to impact the game.
Korkmaz, meanwhile, has given the Sixers excellent offensive minutes in the past. But for whatever reason, he couldn’t knock down shots in 2021-22. If that continues next season, he will almost certainly be traded before the deadline given his $5 million salary.
Matisse Thybulle: Is he here at the start of 2022-23?
This one’s pretty simple! Thybulle’s critics got louder and louder as the season progressed, culminating in a dreadful postseason performance in which he often seemed terrified of even looking at the rim.
We all know how special of a defensive player Thybulle can be, but his defense took a slight step back this season. His offensive game -- already among the worst in the NBA among rotation players -- also did not improve.
So now, with the Sixers hoping to become legitimate championship contenders, the question must be asked: is Thybulle as valuable to a win-now team like the Sixers as he is to a team collecting young talent?
Georges Niang: Will he be relied upon in the playoffs again?
Niang had a very good regular season, giving the Sixers much-improved floor spacing due to his excellent shooting stroke. But when the playoffs arrived, things went south quickly.
Niang could be relied upon for quality regular season minutes, but his defensive weaknesses proved to be too significant for him to be relied upon as a core member of the rotation.
Niang is more than serviceable in low-stakes situations. But when the chips are down, I can’t bring myself to trust him at all.
Tyrese Maxey: Is the star leap coming?
Maxey had a terrific season, learning to play point guard on the fly and doing a tremendous job, and then adjusting to fit alongside Harden after the trade deadline.
In 24 games from Harden’s Sixers debut to the end of the season, Maxey averaged 18.7 points per game, shooting 48 percent from beyond the arc on 5.3 attempts per game, and posting an incredibly efficient 65.5 true shooting percentage.
Maxey also had a few dominant playoff performances, most notably his 38-point outburst in Game 1 against the Raptors.
As I wrote about plenty of times during the season, Maxey’s star leap is coming -- it’s a matter of when, not if. Anyone who has watched him can tell you that at this juncture. If Maxey can become an All-Star-caliber player next year alongside Embiid and Harden, the Sixers will look a whole lot more dangerous.
Jaden Springer and Isaiah Joe: Ready contributors, or trade bait?
Joe was given a chance to carve out a role for himself in the rotation early on in 2021-22, but simply failed to produce. Joe’s defense was competent -- an impressive feat, given his frame -- but his shots just didn’t go in enough. As someone billed as a shooter coming out of college, there is reason for hope that he can eventually figure things out. But if he can’t earn minutes next season, his time with the Sixers may be up, as this upcoming season is the last year of his contract.
Springer did not see any sort of consequential NBA minutes this season, though he did improve and impress in the G-League. However, the 19-year old guard seems very much like a long-term project rather than a win-now asset.
If the Sixers find themselves in need of better depth in the middle of next season, I wouldn’t be surprised if either or both of these two get moved.
Paul Millsap and DeAndre Jordan: Will either be back next season?
The answer is no, so let’s move on.
Paul Reed and Charles Bassey: Who will be next season’s primary backup center?
Reed and Bassey each had their moments this season, with Bassey turning in a few impressive performances early in the year and Reed doing the same later in the year and in the playoffs.
I would be surprised if the Sixers didn’t acquire a veteran backup center at some point this offseason. But even if they do, Reed and Bassey should be afforded opportunities to usurp said veteran’s minutes.
It will be very interesting to see who the Sixers go after at the position, if that player can be replaced midseason, and whether it would be Reed or Bassey who takes over.