There are plenty of questions surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason and this mailbag is going to try to answer some of those questions.
Throughout the offseason, we at The Sixer Sense will be having mailbags on a consistent basis where you, the fans, can ask questions pertaining to the Philadelphia 76ers and we answer them. This week produced plenty of good questions surrounding free agency and player development.
- Our first question comes from one of our Twitter followers.
Do you think the first pick and shamet was for nothing if we don't sign harris back
— Uras Özdemir (@OzdemirUras) May 23, 2019
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That’s a far question. It was a much bigger gamble than the Jimmy Butler trade. For the as for mentioned reasons of Landry Shamet and the two first round picks being sent to the Los Angeles Clippers. The move was made with championship aspirations in mind and the thought that the Sixers are willing to pay the price to keep him in Philly this summer.
It would certainly hurt the Sixers in the future if Tobias Harris didn’t re-sign this summer. It’s hard to say that it wouldn’t be for nothing, but losing Shamet and future draft assets for half a season rental would be a big blow to the Sixers without a doubt.
- The next questions comes from Facebook follower Cora’s Son:
"“I know the Sixers will attempt to re-sign Butler, but do you think they will also make a run at Kawhi Leonard or KD?”"
Great question! It would be awesome to have Kawhi Leonard or Kevin Durant on the Sixers. It would make Philly an instant contender for sure. However, from a financial standpoint, it makes more sense re-signing Butler and Harris do to the fact that the 76ers can go over the salary cap to do so. They can’t do it with other free agents, so unless they can’t re-sign one or both of those two players it seems unlikely that they make a run at another big time free agent.
- Facebook follower Beth Silverman Finkelstein asks the following:
"“Don’t you think TJ should be the team’s mascot??!!”"
If T.J. McConnell retires this summer, maybe.
- Facebook follower Marty Jones asks the following:
"“If we can’t resign Butler (priority) what is our plan for free agency?”"
If the Sixers fail to re-sign Butler, then they must re-sign Tobias Harris, J.J. Redick and find a free agent that can create his own shot off the dribble. It’s unlikely that they would be able to find a player that can be as clutch as Butler was, but the 76ers offseason needs a player that can create off the dribble when Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons struggle with creating offense. They would also need to find a quality backup point guard as well.
- Jon Cakus is a Facebook follower that had a few different questions so they are all going to be answered in order.
"“What, if anything, will Joel Embiid do during the offseason to improve his conditioning and health?”"
It seems like these playoffs were a wakeup call for Embiid and the franchise. It was clear that Embiid took this loss personally and head coach Brett Brown has been quoted saying “…in the best shape that he’s been since he’s been a Philadelphia 76er” in regards to Embiid showing up to next year’s training camp. It sounds like fans should be anticipating some level of improvement from the big man.
"“Put a percent chance that Philly re-signs:Jimmy ButlerTobias HarrisJJ RedickMike Smith (Mike Scott)”"
My personal percentage for: Butler is 75.0 percent, Harris is 60.0 percent, Redick is 70.0 percent and Mike Scott is 85.0 percent. Yet, these are just my personal beliefs.
"“How serious (if at all) is Ben Simmons about improving his game and adding a jump shot?”"
I don’t doubt that he will improve his game as a whole this summer. He talked about the importance of improving his jump shot as well as his overall game during exit interviews. I don’t think Simmons’ will be making multiple 3-pointers per game next season, but one would hope that he’d add a mid-range jumper next season.
That finishes up this Philadelphia 76ers mailbag. Keep an eye out for future mailbags.