Philadelphia 76ers: Re-Grading Last Season's Free Agency Signings

For the first time in a long time, the Philadelphia 76ers were players in free agency. Here are the player grades as the season comes to a close.

Jerryd Bayless

After signing a three-year, $27 million contract this past summer, there were hopes that Jerryd Bayless could be Ben Simmons‘ swingman, always open to knock down an open 3-pointer. Those hopes were squandered after both players sustained season-ending injuries.

Bayless was coming off of a wrist injury from the end of the season before, which had him sidelined until November 21, where he made his Sixers debut against the Miami Heat.

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Bayless would go on to make two more appearances in a Sixers uniform before requiring wrist surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist, which has and will keep him out for the remainder of the season.

We haven’t seen enough of Bayless to give him a grade.

Grade: Incomplete

Gerald Henderson

Gerald Henderson has made a big impact on the 76ers after signing a two-year, $18 million contract. The former Duke guard has provided great veteran leadership for one of the youngest rosters in the Association. Although not the 76ers first scoring option, Henderson is averaging a career high in 3-point percentage (37.4 percent).

The influx of veteran leadership has drastically improved the 76ers, going from 10 wins to already 24 wins (as of March 14). Henderson has also been reliable as far as his health, only missing eight games all season.

Assuming Henderson stays around, his statistics could increase a fair amount with Simmons leading the point. On top of this, should the Sixers draft a player like Malik Monk in this upcoming, stacked 2017 draft, Henderson will be a great mentor for him.

Grade: B

Sergio Rodriguez

Sergio Rodriguez started the season in tremendous form, hitting threes consistently and always finding teammates wide open. All of that changed after a few missed games, and McConnell took the starting position and never looked back. Now, Rodriguez comes off of the bench and due to the inconsistent minutes, he struggles to find his rhythm, therefore, shooting low and hurtful percentages.

Due to Rodriguez’s quick decline and expiring contract, it’s hard to see him sticking around for next season, especially with the 76ers ample cap space and abundance of draft picks. He would fit perfectly as a backup point guard on a championship contending team.

Grade: C

Dario Saric

Dario Saric has recently emerged as a quality player, one that, in some people’s eyes, is the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, ahead of fellow Sixer Joel Embiid. Since Embiid has gone down for the season, Saric has really stepped up as the go-to guy, putting up at least 20 points in his last 15 games, posting new career highs in points twice during that time span.

The Croatian has played every single game this year, going against the norm of big men getting serious injuries during their rookie years. Sixers fans should be extremely grateful for his durability, and ability to last a full NBA season (especially coming off of a season in Europe last year and going straight into the Olympics). I guess thats what playing professional basketball in Europe gets you.

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As I said for Henderson, with the introduction of Ben Simmons next season, Saric should benefit tremendously. Saric should be getting open looks after open looks as the defence will be occupied by Embiid’ versatility and Simmons’ array of skills.

Grade: A

Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber / Brandon Paul / Shawn Long / James Webb III

Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber, Brandon Paul and James Webb III have not played for the 76ers this season, spending all year down with the Sixers’ affiliate, Delaware 87ers. They had signed multiyear, non-guaranteed contracts.

Shawn Long also signed a multiyear, non-guaranteed deal but has played himself into a 10-day contract with the 76ers.

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‘Cat’ Barber signed a three-year, non-guaranteed deal with the Philadelphia 76ers this past summer but hasn’t been given a shot in the NBA yet. Barber was cut on October 24, and many thought he had a good shot at making the 15-man roster, ahead of the likes of Nik Stauskas and T.J. McConnell. Also, averaging 15 point a game, shooting 36.4 percent from 3 is quite impressive for a rookie. He should get an opportunity in the big league soon.

Paul has been a journeyman so far in his young career, playing for the likes of Nizhny Novgorod (Russia), Canton Charge (USA), Joventut Badalona (Spain), and most recently Anadolu Efes (Turkey).

Webb III played much of the season for the Delaware 87ers before being released last week following a right ankle fracture which will keep him out of the remainder of the season. Expect him to rejoin the 76ers for Summer League then go back to the 87ers for the 2017-18 season.

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Shawn Long has only recently been signed to a 10 day contract, only playing in three games so far, definitely not enough to make a judgement on. Although he has averaged 6.3 points in 9 minutes a game so far, if he keeps this up then he should find a long term role on the team.

Re-grading Last Seasons’s Free Agency Signings

By Owen Nelson | Mar 15, 2017