Philadelphia 76ers: Was it a summer of blunders or success?

The rest of the story

July 11, 2019: Signed Kyle O’Quinn, James Ennis and signed Raul Neto as a free agent.
July 26: Signed Furkan Korkmaz as a free agent.
July 30: Signed Trey Burke as a free agent.

After giving big contracts to Tobias Harris and Al Horford, the 76ers were over the salary cap. With its only cap exception already given to Mike Scott, all the Sixers could offer were minimum contracts to fill out its roster.

This is the spot where a team’s pro scouting department is tested. This is where you are looking for diamonds in the rough, or players overlooked that you pounce on to sign.

In grading this group, one needs to remember they are all getting paid the bare minimum allowed by the NBA.

What we thought then: Good job! (except for Korkmaz)

The Sixers actually had five centers its roster in 2018-19 but four of them were so bad they were a total disaster when they came on the floor in the playoffs.

Brand knew he needed more help at center than just Embiid and Horford, Signing the veteran O’Quinn was universally praised. A good, solid signing. he had played well against the 76ers when he was with the Knicks.

On nights when Embiid would be unavailable, he could backup Horford. O’Quinn always hustled, knew how to hit the boards and was a surprisingly good passer.

He is also be fun at Bar Mitzvahs.

Ennis had turned into a key player during the 76ers playoff run. He was a wing and a decent defensive player, which was a huge upgrade compared to what else Brown had to turn to. He also endeared himself to fans by always hustling, getting some offensive boards despite being only 6-6 you normally would not expect.

He was so excited to be on a team he thought was going to ‘cakewalk to the NBA finals’, Ennis accepted less money to return to the Sixers.

With the fan-favorite T.J. McConnell leaving for Indiana, the Sixers were in desperate need of a backup point guard. The need was filled with signing of Raul Neto.

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One of those heady international players, the 6-1 Neto’s durability was the major issue brought up at his signing. Since his rookie year, he had never played more than 41 games in a season. Last summer he worked out at a gym in Los Angeles rather than go home to his native Brazil to work on his body.

Several times Neto had worked his way into the starting lineup with the Utah Jazz, only to be sidelined by injury.

As a depth piece at point guard, Brand’s final move in the off-season was signing Trey Burke, a former College Player of the Year who had been compared to Allen Iverson.  

Many fans considered getting Burke a major steal. He had always been able to create offense for himself, something in very short supply with his new teammates. He had scored 41 points in a game and just the previous year torched the Celtics for 29 points in a Knicks upset.

His defense had always been questioned but, with with so many defensive stalwarts on the team, it looked like a smart move for the Sixers, not only for this season but, possibly, the future.

Now, there was one move that Brand made for which he was universally lambasted: bringing Furkan Korkmaz back.

One of Brand’s first moves as GM was to decline Korkmaz’s option for the 2019-20 season. He had shown, to that point, to be a three-point shooting specialist who was not good at making three-pointers. Additionally, on a team of horrific wing defenders, he was one of the worst.

There were some people (including this author) who thought Korkmaz’s meager $2.03 option was worth the gamble, considering he was only 22 and had played well in international competition.

But the rest of the NBA pretty much agreed with the Sixers. With no one really interested, it looked like Korkmaz was heading back to Turkey to play. Only when the Sixers lost out on the Kyle Korver derby was Korkmaz signed.

But most thought that bringing him back was pretty dumb.

The moves were graded a B or A at the time (with some thinking Burke was an A+ in terms of value) except for Korkmaz, which was a D at best.

What we think now: The opposite.

So far it has been completely the reverse of the summer evaluations. Neto, O’Quinn and Burke (released in February) have been a big pile of nothing while Korkmaz has emerged as a major contributor and even a part-time starter.

O’Quinn has got himself buried deep in Brett Brown’s doghouse.

After starting out as the the third-string center (backup when Embiid out) to start the season, he has slid down to fifth on the depth chart with the promotion of Norvel Pelle from the G-League and, right before the shutdown, Brown going to Mike Scott as a small-ball center.

Neto’s problem has not been health but consistency. In 20 minutes against the Warriors on January 20 he scored 19 points, 13 in the second period alone. He looked so good Ben Simmons told Brown not to sub for him. Two nights later, at Atlanta (a team not exactly known for its defense), Neto again played 20 minutes but scored zero points.

With Neto such a wild card, Brown had been using Josh Richardson and Alec Burks as the backup point going into the lockdown (to middling effect).

Burke had a two-week period playing alongside Simmons that the people who thought so highly of him looked to be right. Luckily for him, those two weeks included Jan. 7, when his contract needed to be guaranteed for the rest of the season (which Brand did).

It what can only be explained as an odd disconnect between Brown and Brand, after having his salary guaranteed, Burke played in only six more games before being waived to make room in the Alec Burks/Glenn Robinson trade.

On the other hand, Korkmaz has been marvelous. His defense is … improved and he is knocking down three-pointers like he always was supposed to. He is shooting almost 40 percent from beyond the arc this season after being a mere 32 percent for his career going in.

Korkmaz’s dramatic three-pointer to win at Portland was one of the 76ers biggest wins.

Now, praise is heaped on Brand for the fact that the Sixers have him on a cheap two-year deal as he has been for most of the season the team’s only fairly reliable outside shooter.

RE-GRADE:

• O’Quinn: D
• Neto: C-
• Burke: D
• Korkmaz: A