Philadelphia 76ers Bringing Fat Wallets To Free Agency

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Sep 29, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie talks with reporters during media day at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Since 2013, the Philadelphia 76ers have not been active in NBA free agency. Not only will that change in 2016, but the Sixers have plenty of cash to make it very interesting.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

If you have ever seen the movie Jerry McGuire, you see a hollywood version of the back room of professional sports – the business end of the industry where players and agents compete for top dollars from professional sports teams, who in turn are competing with each other to attract the top talent currently not under a contract.

It’s simply economics 101 – supply versus demand.

In any market, the two factors that influence the price is the supply of the commodity, and the demand upon that product. If there is more supply than demand, the prices go down or simply do not rise as quickly. If there is more demand than supply, the prices go up rapidly. The rules apply to orange pulp, barrels of crude oil, toilet paper in a snowstorm, and yes, NBA basketball players.

The reason I am diving into this economics lesson is to bring us all to the same starting point. For the past three years, the market for NBA free agents has had less demand than expected. You see, the Philadelphia 76ers have not participated. There are many reasons for their abstinence, but the common thread is simply that the team was not competitive, was developing undrafted and second round talent, and leaving the team payroll open to the possibility of absorbing expensive contracts of other team players for the all important draft pick compensation.

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But the winds of change are blowing again in Philadelphia. You see, the team has assembled a pretty good cast of talent, both on the roster and projected to arrive via the NBA draft, as well as two bonus players in the form of Joel Embiid and Dario Saric. And then there is the matter of unfinished business at the trade deadline, where the Philadelphia 76ers made a hard push for Atlanta Hawks reserve point guard Dennis Schroder.

All of these moves show that not only is the team turning the corner, but that the team now has a sense of some urgency. It’s clear that, despite the improvements brought to the team by point guard Ish Smith, the front office sees the position as a work in process. The fact that the team made such a hard push to acquire Schroder at the trade deadline is significant in two ways: first in that they are not happy with the overall performance at the point guard position, but secondly, that the team feels that the time to make the improvements is now.

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